Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) Rating Increased to Hold at StockNews.com

Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday.

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

Hope Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of HOPE stock traded down $0.19 on Tuesday, hitting $13.75. The company had a trading volume of 804,875 shares, compared to its average volume of 733,786. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $12.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $11.75. Hope Bancorp has a twelve month low of $9.02 and a twelve month high of $14.53. The firm has a market cap of $1.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.37 and a beta of 1.13.

Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.21 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 last year, the company earned $0.25 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Hope Bancorp will post 0.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Thomas Stenger sold 3,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.40, for a total value of $39,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 25,952 shares in the company, valued at $321,804.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Hope Bancorp news, EVP Thomas Stenger sold 3,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.40, for a total transaction of $39,680.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,952 shares in the company, valued at $321,804.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Jinho Doo sold 10,703 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.40, for a total transaction of $132,717.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 21,538 shares in the company, valued at $267,071.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 54,185 shares of company stock valued at $714,130 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 5.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HOPE. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in Hope Bancorp by 2.0% during the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 60,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $652,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its holdings in Hope Bancorp by 15.7% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 9,109 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $114,000 after acquiring an additional 1,238 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC raised its stake in Hope Bancorp by 4.5% during the second quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 32,603 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $350,000 after buying an additional 1,413 shares during the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp boosted its stake in Hope Bancorp by 1.4% during the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 105,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,210,000 after acquiring an additional 1,422 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SummerHaven Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Hope Bancorp by 1.8% during the second quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 84,949 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $912,000 after purchasing an additional 1,484 shares during the last quarter. 84.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.