Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) Raised to Buy at Brean Capital

Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) was upgraded by research analysts at Brean Capital from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on HOPE. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Hope Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $14.50 price target on shares of Hope Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hope Bancorp in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Hope Bancorp from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.75.

Hope Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of Hope Bancorp stock traded up $0.54 on Wednesday, reaching $11.71. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,023,599 shares, compared to its average volume of 936,204. Hope Bancorp has a 52-week low of $8.82 and a 52-week high of $12.79. The company has a market capitalization of $1.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.45 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $11.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $11.14.

Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.01. Hope Bancorp had a net margin of 5.81% and a return on equity of 5.09%. The business had revenue of $145.76 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $142.90 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.20 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Hope Bancorp will post 1.09 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hope Bancorp

In other Hope Bancorp news, Director Daisy Y. Ha sold 31,020 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 5.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of Hope Bancorp by 91.5% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 32,828 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $344,000 after purchasing an additional 15,687 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Hope Bancorp by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 68,936 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $722,000 after acquiring an additional 3,005 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hope Bancorp by 147.1% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 492,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,153,000 after buying an additional 292,994 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new stake in Hope Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at about $297,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hope Bancorp by 676.8% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 227,116 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,378,000 after acquiring an additional 197,877 shares during the period. 84.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.