Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Hope Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOPE) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $13.09 and last traded at $13.0030, with a volume of 116962 shares. The stock had previously closed at $12.67.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. 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 increased their price target on shares of Hope Bancorp from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Hope Bancorp from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Brean Capital upgraded shares of Hope Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their target price on Hope Bancorp from $14.50 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hope Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $14.50.

Hope Bancorp Price Performance

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $12.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.69. The firm has a market cap of $1.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.63 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96.

Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $133.82 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $145.30 million. Hope Bancorp had a net margin of 6.56% and a return on equity of 5.32%. Hope Bancorp’s revenue was up 21.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.17 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Hope Bancorp, Inc. will post 1.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Hope Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were given a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. Hope Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 107.69%.

Insider Activity at Hope Bancorp

In other Hope Bancorp news, Director Daisy Y. Ha sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.53, for a total transaction of $150,360.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 373,115 shares in the company, valued at $4,675,130.95. The trade was a 3.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of Hope Bancorp by 91.5% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 32,828 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $344,000 after buying an additional 15,687 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in Hope Bancorp by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 68,936 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $722,000 after buying an additional 3,005 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Hope Bancorp by 147.1% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 492,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,153,000 after buying an additional 292,994 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new position in Hope Bancorp in the 1st quarter worth $297,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC lifted its holdings in Hope Bancorp by 676.8% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 227,116 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,378,000 after buying an additional 197,877 shares in the last quarter. 84.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.