Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) Hits New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Hope Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOPE) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $14.49 and last traded at $14.4550, with a volume of 82863 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $14.30.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HOPE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Hope Bancorp from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Hope Bancorp from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. 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 research report on Monday, August 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hope Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $15.50.

Hope Bancorp Stock Up 0.7%

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $13.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.48. 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 firm has a market cap of $1.84 billion, a PE ratio of 14.40 and a beta of 0.83.

Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.01. Hope Bancorp had a net margin of 12.53% and a return on equity of 5.71%. The business had revenue of $147.82 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $146.50 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.22) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Hope Bancorp, Inc. will post 1.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hope Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 6th will be given a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 6th. Hope Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 56.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hope Bancorp

In other news, Director Daisy Y. Ha sold 26,995 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.24, for a total transaction of $384,408.80. Following the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 2.27% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hope Bancorp

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hope Bancorp by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 11,647 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $128,000 after buying an additional 960 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its position in Hope Bancorp by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 18,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $198,000 after buying an additional 1,051 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Hope Bancorp by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 22,218 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $244,000 after acquiring an additional 1,074 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its position in Hope Bancorp by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 269,046 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,950,000 after purchasing an additional 1,152 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in shares of Hope Bancorp by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 60,053 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $644,000 after buying an additional 1,659 shares during the last quarter. 84.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.