Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) Lowered to Sell Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note released on Thursday morning.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Hope Bancorp from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th.

Hope Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of HOPE opened at $13.82 on Thursday. Hope Bancorp has a 1 year low of $9.45 and a 1 year high of $14.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.45 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96. The company’s fifty day moving average is $12.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.93.

Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.22 by ($0.01). Hope Bancorp had a return on equity of 5.52% and a net margin of 9.81%. The firm had revenue of $246.92 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $121.67 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.25 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Hope Bancorp will post 0.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Hope Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were issued a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.05%. Hope Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.67%.

Insider Activity

In other Hope Bancorp news, Director David P. Malone sold 10,428 shares of Hope Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.71, for a total transaction of $132,539.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 109,991 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,397,985.61. The trade was a 8.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Steven Koh sold 96,620 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.33, for a total transaction of $1,287,944.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,167,023 shares in the company, valued at $42,216,416.59. This represents a 2.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 136,902 shares of company stock worth $1,829,678. Company insiders own 5.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hope Bancorp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HOPE. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Hope Bancorp by 232.7% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,333,798 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,065,000 after buying an additional 1,632,384 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Hope Bancorp by 30.1% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,553,508 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $57,192,000 after acquiring an additional 1,054,124 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. increased its position in Hope Bancorp by 800.0% during the 2nd quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 529,195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,684,000 after purchasing an additional 470,394 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Hope Bancorp by 17.4% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,000,739 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,488,000 after purchasing an additional 296,469 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Hope Bancorp by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,319,095 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $78,605,000 after purchasing an additional 218,302 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.00% of the company’s stock.

Hope Bancorp Company Profile

Hope Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Bank of Hope that provides retail and commercial banking services for businesses and individuals in the United States. It accepts personal and business checking, money market, savings, time deposit, and individual retirement accounts. The company also offers loans comprising commercial and industrial loans to businesses for various purposes, such as working capital, purchasing inventory, debt refinancing, business acquisitions, international trade finance, other business-related financing, and loans syndication services; commercial real estate loans; residential mortgage loans; small business administration loans; and consumer loans, such as single-family mortgage, home equity, automobile, credit card, and personal loans.