Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) Sets New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

Shares of Hope Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOPE) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $13.09 and last traded at $13.0030, with a volume of 116962 shares. The stock had previously closed at $12.67.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on HOPE shares. Zacks Research upgraded Hope Bancorp from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Brean Capital upgraded Hope Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. DA Davidson raised their price target on Hope Bancorp from $14.50 to $15.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Hope Bancorp from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Hope Bancorp from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hope Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $14.50.

Hope Bancorp Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.79 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $12.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.73.

Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $133.82 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $145.30 million. Hope Bancorp had a return on equity of 5.32% and a net margin of 6.56%.Hope Bancorp’s revenue was up 21.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.17 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Hope Bancorp, Inc. will post 1.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hope Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were given a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. Hope Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 107.69%.

Insider Transactions at Hope Bancorp

In related news, Director Daisy Y. Ha sold 12,000 shares of Hope Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.53, for a total value of $150,360.00. Following the sale, the director owned 373,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,675,130.95. This trade represents a 3.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hope Bancorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rhino Investment Partners Inc raised its position in Hope Bancorp by 29.8% in the 3rd quarter. Rhino Investment Partners Inc now owns 1,896,501 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,425,000 after buying an additional 435,165 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC raised its stake in shares of Hope Bancorp by 159.4% during the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 189,175 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,073,000 after purchasing an additional 116,252 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG raised its stake in shares of Hope Bancorp by 73.5% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,972,716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,621,000 after purchasing an additional 835,814 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hope Bancorp by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,195,059 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,411,000 after buying an additional 188,182 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its holdings in shares of Hope Bancorp by 15.7% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 499,967 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,385,000 after buying an additional 67,742 shares during the last quarter. 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.