Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) Share Price Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Hope Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOPE)’s share price crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $10.98 and traded as high as $12.18. Hope Bancorp shares last traded at $12.14, with a volume of 806,815 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on HOPE. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Hope Bancorp from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Wall Street Zen raised Hope Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $14.50 price objective on shares of Hope Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Zacks Research cut Hope Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hope Bancorp in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Hope Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.75.

Hope Bancorp Stock Up 0.3%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.97. The company has a market cap of $1.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.39 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $11.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.99.

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 return on equity of 5.09% and a net margin of 5.81%.The firm had revenue of $145.76 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $142.90 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.20 earnings per share. Hope Bancorp’s revenue was up 23.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Hope Bancorp, Inc. will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hope Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 6th. Hope Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 121.74%.

Insider Activity at Hope Bancorp

In other news, Director Daisy Y. Ha sold 31,020 shares of the business’s 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 SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director David P. Malone sold 20,820 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.50, for a total value of $239,430.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 66,658 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $766,567. This represents a 23.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 83,340 shares of company stock worth $1,011,996. 5.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hope Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hope Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hope Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Hope Bancorp by 294.0% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,428 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 2,558 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Hope Bancorp by 61.0% during the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 3,968 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 1,503 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Hope Bancorp by 157.1% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,026 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 3,071 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.00% of the company’s stock.

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.