Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) Reaches New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Hope Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOPE)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $13.25 and last traded at $13.2280, with a volume of 376 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.19.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on HOPE shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Hope Bancorp from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Hope Bancorp from $14.50 to $15.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings raised Hope Bancorp from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Hope Bancorp from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Brean Capital upgraded Hope Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $14.50.

Hope Bancorp Trading Up 0.2%

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $12.43 and a 200-day moving average of $11.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The company has a market capitalization of $1.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.08 and a beta of 0.84.

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

Hope Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.3%. Hope Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 107.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Daisy Y. Ha sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.53, for a total value of $150,360.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 373,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,675,130.95. The trade was a 3.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HOPE. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 15,687 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Hope Bancorp by 4.6% during 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 acquiring an additional 3,005 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hope Bancorp by 147.1% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 492,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,153,000 after acquiring an additional 292,994 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Hope Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth approximately $297,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hope Bancorp by 676.8% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 227,116 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,378,000 after acquiring an additional 197,877 shares in the last quarter. 84.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.