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

Hope Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOPE) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $13.67 and last traded at $13.6150, with a volume of 356342 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.57.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Hope Bancorp Trading Up 0.5%

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $12.62 and its 200 day moving average is $11.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The company has a market capitalization of $1.74 billion, a PE ratio of 26.22 and a beta of 0.84.

Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $133.82 million during 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.17 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Hope Bancorp, Inc. will post 1.13 EPS for the current year.

Hope Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. Hope Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 107.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hope Bancorp

In related news, Director Daisy Y. Ha sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.53, for a total value of $150,360.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 373,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,675,130.95. This trade represents a 3.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hope Bancorp

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Rhino Investment Partners Inc raised its holdings in shares of Hope Bancorp by 29.8% during the third quarter. Rhino Investment Partners Inc now owns 1,896,501 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,425,000 after acquiring an additional 435,165 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its holdings in Hope Bancorp by 159.4% in the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 189,175 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,073,000 after acquiring an additional 116,252 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in Hope Bancorp by 73.5% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,972,716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,621,000 after acquiring an additional 835,814 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Hope Bancorp by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,195,059 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,411,000 after purchasing an additional 188,182 shares during the period. Finally, M&T Bank Corp bought a new position in Hope Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth $188,000. 84.00% of the stock is currently owned by 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.