Hope Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOPE) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Hope Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOPE) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the five ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $14.50.

A number of research firms have weighed in on HOPE. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Hope Bancorp from $14.50 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings raised Hope Bancorp from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Zacks Research raised shares of Hope Bancorp from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Hope Bancorp from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Brean Capital raised Hope Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 1st.

Hope Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HOPE opened at $13.37 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.71 and a beta of 0.83. The business has a 50-day moving average of $12.77 and a 200-day moving average of $12.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96. Hope Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $9.44 and a fifty-two week high of $14.05.

Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.01. Hope Bancorp had a return on equity of 5.32% and a net margin of 6.56%.The business had revenue of $133.82 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $145.30 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.17 earnings per share. Hope Bancorp’s quarterly revenue was up 21.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Hope Bancorp will post 1.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hope Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were given a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. Hope Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 107.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hope Bancorp

In other news, Director Daisy Y. Ha sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.53, for a total transaction of $150,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 373,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,675,130.95. This trade represents a 3.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 2.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hope Bancorp

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HOPE. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Hope Bancorp by 2.7% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,335,999 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $122,089,000 after purchasing an additional 303,019 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Hope Bancorp by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,367,855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $82,298,000 after purchasing an additional 315,028 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Hope Bancorp by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,494,266 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $69,683,000 after purchasing an additional 209,442 shares during the last quarter. HoldCo Asset Management LP bought a new stake in Hope Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at $32,838,000. Finally, Rhino Investment Partners Inc boosted its stake in Hope Bancorp by 9.9% in the 1st quarter. Rhino Investment Partners Inc now owns 2,595,281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,989,000 after purchasing an additional 232,783 shares during the period. 84.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Hope Bancorp

Hope Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Hope Bank, a California-chartered financial institution serving small and middle-market businesses, professionals and affluent individuals. The company’s principal activities include accepting a variety of deposit products—such as checking accounts, savings and money market accounts, and time deposits—and extending commercial credit facilities. With a focus on community banking, Hope Bancorp tailors its offerings to meet the needs of clients in diverse industries, including real estate, professional services and import/export trade.

In its lending business, Hope Bancorp provides commercial real estate loans, construction financing, working capital lines of credit and equipment financing.