Hope Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOPE) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Hope Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOPE) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $15.50.

HOPE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Hope Bancorp from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Hope Bancorp from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Hope Bancorp from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th.

Hope Bancorp Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of HOPE opened at $13.92 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.92 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.97. Hope Bancorp has a 1 year low of $9.80 and a 1 year high of $14.59. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $13.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.64.

Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.01. Hope Bancorp had a net margin of 12.53% and a return on equity of 5.71%. The firm had revenue of $147.82 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $146.50 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.22) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Hope Bancorp will post 1.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hope Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 6th were given a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 6th. Hope Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 56.00%.

Insider Activity at Hope Bancorp

In related news, Director Daisy Y. Ha sold 26,995 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.24, for a total transaction of $384,408.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 346,120 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,928,748.80. This represents a 7.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Hope Bancorp

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hope Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hope Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Hope Bancorp in the second quarter valued at $36,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Hope Bancorp by 294.0% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,428 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 2,558 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its position in Hope Bancorp by 375.1% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 3,625 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 2,862 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.00% of the company’s stock.

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.