Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) Price Target Lowered to $14.50 at DA Davidson

Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) had its price objective cut by DA Davidson from $15.50 to $14.50 in a report issued on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Separately, StockNews.com raised Hope Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th.

Hope Bancorp Stock Down 4.4 %

NASDAQ:HOPE opened at $11.71 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. Hope Bancorp has a twelve month low of $9.80 and a twelve month high of $14.53. The company has a market cap of $1.41 billion, a PE ratio of 13.94 and a beta of 1.16. The company’s 50 day moving average is $12.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.65.

Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by $0.03. Hope Bancorp had a net margin of 9.81% and a return on equity of 5.52%. Analysts anticipate that Hope Bancorp will post 0.85 EPS for the current year.

Hope Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 6th will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.78%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 6th. Hope Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.67%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Steven Koh sold 96,620 shares of Hope Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.33, for a total transaction of $1,287,944.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,167,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,216,416.59. The trade was a 2.96 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Angelee Harris sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.16, for a total transaction of $42,480.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,795 shares in the company, valued at $280,297.20. This trade represents a 13.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 129,224 shares of company stock valued at $1,737,873 in the last quarter. 5.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hope Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HOPE. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position in Hope Bancorp by 31.2% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 3,563 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 848 shares in the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hope Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Hope Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at $58,000. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in Hope Bancorp by 36.6% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,093 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $87,000 after acquiring an additional 1,901 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC raised its position in Hope Bancorp by 15.7% during the third 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 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.