Brokerages Set Hope Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOPE) PT at $15.50

Shares of Hope Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOPE) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the five ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $15.50.

A number of research firms have weighed in on HOPE. DA Davidson raised 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. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Hope Bancorp from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price 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.

Hope Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HOPE opened at $14.00 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $13.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $12.45. Hope Bancorp has a twelve month low of $9.80 and a twelve month high of $14.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.00 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.98 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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.01. Hope Bancorp had a return on equity of 5.71% and a net margin of 12.53%.The company had revenue of $147.82 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $146.50 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.22) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Hope Bancorp 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. Investors of record on Thursday, August 6th will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 6th. Hope Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Daisy Y. Ha sold 26,995 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.24, for a total value of $384,408.80. Following the transaction, the director owned 346,120 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,928,748.80. This trade represents 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 accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hope Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hope Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $252,703,000. HoldCo Asset Management LP bought a new position in Hope Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth $32,838,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in Hope Bancorp by 366.8% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,340,635 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,439,000 after purchasing an additional 1,053,434 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its position 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 valued at $21,621,000 after buying an additional 835,814 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Hope Bancorp during the second quarter valued at $10,384,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.00% of the company’s stock.

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.