Hope Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOPE) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Hope Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOPE) was the target of a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,650,000 shares, an increase of 38.0% from the February 28th total of 1,920,000 shares. Approximately 2.3% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 745,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.6 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. DA Davidson dropped their target price on shares of Hope Bancorp from $15.50 to $14.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Hope Bancorp from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Hope Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hope Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hope Bancorp

In related news, EVP Thomas Stenger sold 4,185 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.83, for a total transaction of $49,508.55. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $227,928.61. This trade represents a 17.84 % 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. Company insiders own 5.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Hope Bancorp by 3.7% during the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 48,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $609,000 after acquiring an additional 1,744 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Hope Bancorp by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,346,215 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,468,000 after purchasing an additional 33,689 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Hope Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth about $58,000. Townsquare Capital LLC bought a new position in Hope Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth about $174,000. Finally, Martingale Asset Management L P purchased a new position in Hope Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at about $713,000. 84.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hope Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HOPE opened at $10.38 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.66 and a beta of 1.15. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $11.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Hope Bancorp has a 1-year low of $9.80 and a 1-year high of $14.54.

Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.03. Hope Bancorp had a return on equity of 4.84% and a net margin of 9.95%. Analysts anticipate that Hope Bancorp will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Hope Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 6th were paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 6th. Hope Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 68.29%.

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.