Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) Hits New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

Hope Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOPE) hit a new 52-week high on Monday after Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on the stock from $14.00 to $15.00. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has a hold rating on the stock. Hope Bancorp traded as high as $14.24 and last traded at $14.2450, with a volume of 67100 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $14.01.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings raised Hope Bancorp from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Hope Bancorp from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $15.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hope Bancorp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HOPE. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hope Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hope Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position 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 worth $36,000 after buying an additional 2,558 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Hope Bancorp by 375.1% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 3,625 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 2,862 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings 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 worth $54,000 after buying an additional 3,071 shares in the last quarter. 84.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hope Bancorp Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $13.30 and a 200-day moving average of $12.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.36 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

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

Hope Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 6th will be issued a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 6th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Hope Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.00%.

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.