Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Research

Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) was downgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

HOPE has been the subject of several other reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Hope Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hope Bancorp in a report on Monday, December 29th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $14.50 target price on shares of Hope Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Hope Bancorp from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hope Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.75.

Hope Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HOPE opened at $12.33 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The company has a market capitalization of $1.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.80 and a beta of 0.87. Hope Bancorp has a twelve month low of $8.82 and a twelve month high of $12.59. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $11.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.89.

Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $145.76 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $142.90 million. Hope Bancorp had a return on equity of 5.09% and a net margin of 5.81%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.20 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Hope Bancorp will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hope Bancorp

In other news, Director David P. Malone sold 20,820 shares of Hope Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 66,658 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $766,567. The trade was a 23.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 26,787 shares of company stock worth $303,917 over the last quarter. Insiders own 5.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Hope Bancorp

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HOPE. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Hope Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. CKW Financial Group acquired a new position in shares of Hope Bancorp during the second quarter valued at $32,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hope Bancorp by 294.0% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,428 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 2,558 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Hope Bancorp by 61.0% during the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 3,968 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 1,503 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Hope Bancorp by 157.1% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,026 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 3,071 shares in the last quarter. 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.