Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Should You Buy?

Hope Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOPE) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Monday . Approximately 1,891,270 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 87% from the previous session’s volume of 1,011,219 shares.The stock last traded at $11.3570 and had previously closed at $10.98.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Hope Bancorp from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hope Bancorp in a research report on Monday, December 29th. DA Davidson set a $14.50 target price on shares of Hope Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Hope Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.25.

Hope Bancorp Stock Up 2.3%

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $10.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $10.80. The company has a market cap of $1.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.80 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by ($0.01). Hope Bancorp had a return on equity of 4.70% and a net margin of 4.89%.The business had revenue of $142.03 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $138.87 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.21 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Hope Bancorp, Inc. will post 1.09 EPS for the current year.

Hope Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th were paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 7th. Hope Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 143.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hope Bancorp

In other news, Director David P. Malone sold 20,820 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.50, for a total transaction of $239,430.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 66,658 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $766,567. This represents a 23.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 26,787 shares of company stock worth $303,917. Corporate insiders own 5.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Hope Bancorp

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Voya Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Hope Bancorp by 318.8% during the 1st quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 420,501 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,403,000 after acquiring an additional 320,091 shares during the period. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Hope Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at about $670,000. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Hope Bancorp by 31.5% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 178,490 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,869,000 after purchasing an additional 42,710 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Hope Bancorp by 29.3% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,345 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 1,211 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Hope Bancorp by 2.9% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,739,463 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,664,000 after purchasing an additional 48,394 shares during the period. 84.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hope Bancorp Company Profile

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.