Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Hope Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOPE) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $14.49 and last traded at $14.4550, with a volume of 82863 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $14.30.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on HOPE shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Hope Bancorp from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Hope Bancorp from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Hope Bancorp from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hope Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $15.50.

Hope Bancorp Trading Down 0.3%

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $13.58 and a 200 day moving average of $12.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.45 and a beta of 0.83.

Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.01. Hope Bancorp had a return on equity of 5.71% and a net margin of 12.53%.The company had revenue of $147.82 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $146.50 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.22) EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Hope Bancorp, Inc. will post 1.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hope Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 6th. Hope Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 56.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hope Bancorp

In related news, Director Daisy Y. Ha sold 26,995 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.24, for a total value of $384,408.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 346,120 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,928,748.80. This represents a 7.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 2.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hope Bancorp

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hope Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $252,703,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Hope Bancorp by 2.7% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,335,999 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $122,089,000 after acquiring an additional 303,019 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Hope Bancorp by 4.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,367,855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $82,298,000 after acquiring an additional 315,028 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Hope Bancorp by 3.3% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,494,266 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $69,683,000 after purchasing an additional 209,442 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HoldCo Asset Management LP bought a new stake in Hope Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,838,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.00% of the company’s stock.

Hope Bancorp Company Profile

Hope Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Hope Bank, a California-chartered financial institution serving small and middle-market businesses, professionals and affluent individuals. The company’s principal activities include accepting a variety of deposit products—such as checking accounts, savings and money market accounts, and time deposits—and extending commercial credit facilities. With a focus on community banking, Hope Bancorp tailors its offerings to meet the needs of clients in diverse industries, including real estate, professional services and import/export trade.

In its lending business, Hope Bancorp provides commercial real estate loans, construction financing, working capital lines of credit and equipment financing.