Hope Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOPE) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Hope Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOPE) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the five brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $14.25.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hope Bancorp in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Brean Capital upgraded Hope Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $14.50 price objective on shares of Hope Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Hope Bancorp from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Hope Bancorp from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st.

Hope Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of Hope Bancorp stock opened at $11.88 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. Hope Bancorp has a twelve month low of $8.82 and a twelve month high of $12.79. The stock has a market cap of $1.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.83 and a beta of 0.80. The company’s fifty day moving average is $11.57 and its 200 day moving average is $11.16.

Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.01. Hope Bancorp had a net margin of 5.81% and a return on equity of 5.09%. The company had revenue of $145.76 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $142.90 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.20 earnings per share. Hope Bancorp’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Hope Bancorp will post 1.09 EPS for the current year.

Hope Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 6th were given a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 6th. Hope Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 121.74%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Daisy Y. Ha sold 31,020 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.48, for a total transaction of $387,129.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 5.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hope Bancorp

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HOPE. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Hope Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Hope Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in Hope Bancorp by 294.0% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,428 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 2,558 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its holdings in Hope Bancorp by 375.1% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 3,625 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 2,862 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Hope Bancorp by 61.0% in the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 3,968 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 1,503 shares in the last quarter. 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.