Wedbush Trims Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) Target Price to $11.00

Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) had its target price lowered by Wedbush from $12.00 to $11.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Wedbush also issued estimates for Hope Bancorp’s Q2 2024 earnings at $0.22 EPS, Q3 2024 earnings at $0.28 EPS, Q4 2024 earnings at $0.37 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $1.10 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $0.35 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $0.37 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $0.37 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $0.37 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $1.45 EPS.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. DA Davidson raised Hope Bancorp from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $12.50 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Hope Bancorp from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Saturday, January 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $11.83.

Hope Bancorp Price Performance

HOPE stock opened at $10.84 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.69 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $10.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.75. Hope Bancorp has a 1 year low of $7.42 and a 1 year high of $12.51.

Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $123.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $130.42 million. Hope Bancorp had a net margin of 10.80% and a return on equity of 6.43%. The firm’s revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.33 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Hope Bancorp will post 1.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hope Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 9th will be paid a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 8th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.17%. Hope Bancorp’s payout ratio is 56.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hope Bancorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Hope Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $9,960,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hope Bancorp by 70.5% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 764,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,761,000 after purchasing an additional 315,935 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its stake in shares of Hope Bancorp by 32.5% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,216,170 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,742,000 after purchasing an additional 298,349 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Hope Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth $2,977,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Hope Bancorp by 58.5% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 602,634 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,333,000 after buying an additional 222,506 shares during the last quarter. 84.00% of the stock is 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.