Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Sell”

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on HOPE. Benchmark upgraded Hope Bancorp to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. DA Davidson lowered shares of Hope Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $16.00 to $14.00 in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Hope Bancorp from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Hope Bancorp from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 27th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Hope Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $14.00.

Hope Bancorp Stock Down 0.3%

HOPE traded down $0.04 on Friday, reaching $13.02. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 729,032 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,282,449. The stock has a market cap of $1.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.52 and a beta of 0.90. Hope Bancorp has a 1 year low of $9.80 and a 1 year high of $14.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The business’s 50 day moving average is $13.59 and its 200 day moving average is $12.89.

Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29. Hope Bancorp had a return on equity of 5.97% and a net margin of 12.90%. The firm had revenue of $157.48 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $151.34 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.25 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Hope Bancorp will post 1.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hope Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, November 7th will be issued a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 6th. Hope Bancorp’s payout ratio is 53.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hope Bancorp

In other news, EVP Angelee Harris sold 3,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.10, for a total value of $41,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 27,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $360,931.20. The trade was a 10.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.27% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hope Bancorp

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HOPE. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hope Bancorp during the second quarter worth $252,703,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Hope Bancorp by 14.5% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,438,933 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $156,485,000 after buying an additional 1,448,931 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Hope Bancorp by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,367,855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $82,298,000 after buying an additional 315,028 shares during the period. Rhino Investment Partners Inc grew its position in shares of Hope Bancorp by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. Rhino Investment Partners Inc now owns 2,595,281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,989,000 after buying an additional 232,783 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of Hope Bancorp by 16.9% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 989,030 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,047,000 after buying an additional 142,807 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.00% of the company’s stock.

Hope Bancorp Company Profile

Hope Bancorp, Inc. is the bank holding company for Bank of Hope, a commercial bank headquartered in Los Angeles. Bank of Hope was formed in 2016 through the merger of BBCN Bank and Wilshire Bank, bringing together institutions with roots in serving Korean-American communities. The bank provides deposit accounts, commercial and consumer lending, and other banking services to individuals and businesses. Its offerings include commercial real estate and business loans, small-business lending, treasury management, and online and mobile banking.