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 Tuesday morning.

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

Hope Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:HOPE opened at $12.36 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $12.58 and its 200-day moving average is $11.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.49 billion, a PE ratio of 14.71 and a beta of 1.13. Hope Bancorp has a 1-year low of $8.76 and a 1-year high of $13.59.

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

Hope Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. Hope Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Thomas Stenger sold 3,200 shares of Hope Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.40, for a total value of $39,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 25,952 shares in the company, valued at approximately $321,804.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director David P. Malone sold 10,428 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the director now owns 109,991 shares in the company, valued at $1,397,985.61. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Thomas Stenger sold 3,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.40, for a total transaction of $39,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 25,952 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $321,804.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 25,831 shares of company stock valued at $323,657. 5.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hope Bancorp

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hope Bancorp by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,730,473 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $165,864,000 after buying an additional 115,826 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Hope Bancorp by 3.1% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,319,095 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $78,605,000 after purchasing an additional 218,302 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Hope Bancorp by 232.7% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,632,384 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Hope Bancorp by 17.4% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,000,739 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,488,000 after purchasing an additional 296,469 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners lifted its position in Hope Bancorp by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,229,582 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,994,000 after purchasing an additional 51,207 shares during the period. 84.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Hope Bancorp

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.