Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) Director Daisy Ha Sells 26,995 Shares

Hope Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOPE) Director Daisy Ha sold 26,995 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.24, for a total value of $384,408.80. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 346,120 shares in the company, valued at $4,928,748.80. The trade was a 7.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Hope Bancorp Stock Performance

HOPE opened at $14.36 on Wednesday. Hope Bancorp, Inc. has a 1-year low of $9.80 and a 1-year high of $14.48. The company has a market cap of $1.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.36 and a beta of 0.83. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $13.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $146.50 million. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.22) earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Hope Bancorp, Inc. will post 1.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hope Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 6th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. Hope Bancorp’s payout ratio is 56.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hope Bancorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HoldCo Asset Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Hope Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,838,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of Hope Bancorp by 366.8% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,340,635 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,439,000 after acquiring an additional 1,053,434 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in Hope Bancorp by 73.5% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,972,716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,621,000 after acquiring an additional 835,814 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Hope Bancorp by 44.6% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,310,967 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,368,000 after acquiring an additional 404,505 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Hope Bancorp by 4.5% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,367,855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $82,298,000 after purchasing an additional 315,028 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Hope Bancorp from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Hope Bancorp from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price target on Hope Bancorp from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $15.50.

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.