Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to Hold Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Hope Bancorp from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. DA Davidson set a $14.50 price objective on shares of Hope Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Hope Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.25.

Hope Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of HOPE stock opened at $10.46 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.82 and a beta of 0.96. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $10.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $10.60. Hope Bancorp has a one year low of $8.82 and a one year high of $14.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.26 by ($0.01). Hope Bancorp had a return on equity of 4.70% and a net margin of 4.89%.The firm had revenue of $142.03 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $138.87 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.21 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Hope Bancorp will post 1.09 EPS for the current year.

Hope Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th will be paid a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 7th. Hope Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 143.59%.

Insider Transactions at Hope Bancorp

In other news, EVP Angelee Harris sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.02, for a total transaction of $38,570.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 24,241 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $267,135.82. This represents a 12.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 5.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Voya Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hope Bancorp by 318.8% in the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 420,501 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,403,000 after purchasing an additional 320,091 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Hope Bancorp by 3.6% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 699,108 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,320,000 after buying an additional 24,465 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new position in Hope Bancorp in the 1st quarter worth approximately $186,000. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in Hope Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth approximately $670,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Hope Bancorp by 31.5% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 178,490 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,869,000 after acquiring an additional 42,710 shares during the period. 84.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.