Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) Stock Bumped Up to “Hold” by Benchmark

Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Benchmark to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Zacks reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Hope Bancorp from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Hope Bancorp from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Hope Bancorp from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hope Bancorp has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $15.50.

Hope Bancorp Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of HOPE stock opened at $13.72 on Wednesday. Hope Bancorp has a 1-year low of $9.80 and a 1-year high of $14.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a market cap of $1.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.72 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $13.96 and a 200-day moving average of $12.92.

Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $146.50 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.22) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Hope Bancorp will post 1.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hope Bancorp news, Director Daisy Ha sold 26,995 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 346,120 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,928,748.80. This represents a 7.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in HOPE. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Hope Bancorp in the second quarter valued at about $34,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Hope Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Hope Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its position in Hope Bancorp by 375.1% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Compass Financial Management LLC purchased a new stake in Hope Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $56,000. 84.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hope Bancorp Company Profile

Hope Bancorp, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Los Angeles, California. Its principal subsidiary, Bank of Hope, provides banking and financial services to businesses, individuals and organizations, with a particular focus on small and middle-market companies and Korean American communities in the United States.

Bank of Hope offers commercial and industrial loans, commercial real estate financing, Small Business Administration loans, residential mortgage loans, consumer lending, deposit accounts and cash-management services.