Hope Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOPE) Stock Rated “Hold” by Wall Street Analysts

Shares of Hope Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOPE) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seven brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $14.00.

HOPE has been the topic of a number of research reports. Benchmark upgraded Hope Bancorp to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Weiss Ratings raised Hope Bancorp from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. Zacks Research lowered Hope Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Hope Bancorp from $15.00 to $13.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. Finally, DA Davidson downgraded Hope Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $16.00 to $14.00 in a research note on Friday, October 30th.

Hope Bancorp Price Performance

HOPE opened at $13.14 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $1.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.63 and a beta of 0.90. Hope Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $9.80 and a fifty-two week high of $14.59. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $13.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $12.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29. Hope Bancorp had a net margin of 12.90% and a return on equity of 5.97%. The firm had revenue of $157.48 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $151.34 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.25 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Hope Bancorp will post 1.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Hope Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, November 7th will be paid a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 6th. Hope Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.85%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hope Bancorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of Hope Bancorp during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hope Bancorp by 210.0% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 1,703 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Hope Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new stake in Hope Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Hope Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.00% of the company’s stock.

About Hope Bancorp

Hope Bancorp, Inc. is the bank holding company for Bank of Hope, a commercial bank headquartered in Los Angeles. Bank of Hope was formed in 2016 through the merger of BBCN Bank and Wilshire Bank, bringing together institutions with roots in serving Korean-American communities. The bank provides deposit accounts, commercial and consumer lending, and other banking services to individuals and businesses. Its offerings include commercial real estate and business loans, small-business lending, treasury management, and online and mobile banking.