Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) Downgraded by StockNews.com

Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday.

Several other brokerages have also commented on HOPE. DA Davidson upgraded Hope Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $12.50 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Hope Bancorp from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Wedbush dropped their target price on shares of Hope Bancorp from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $12.50.

Hope Bancorp Stock Down 0.5 %

HOPE traded down $0.06 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $11.81. The company had a trading volume of 712,323 shares, compared to its average volume of 742,419. The company has a market cap of $1.42 billion, a PE ratio of 11.81 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 1.00. Hope Bancorp has a 1-year low of $8.15 and a 1-year high of $13.59. The business has a 50-day moving average of $11.16 and a 200-day moving average of $11.02.

Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22. The business had revenue of $116.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $121.27 million. Hope Bancorp had a net margin of 10.02% and a return on equity of 5.85%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.32 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Hope Bancorp will post 0.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Hope Bancorp

In other news, EVP Angelee Harris sold 4,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.68, for a total transaction of $44,856.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 18,527 shares in the company, valued at $197,868.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Steven Koh sold 3,857 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.94, for a total value of $38,338.58. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,294,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,744,208.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Angelee Harris sold 4,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.68, for a total value of $44,856.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 18,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $197,868.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 5.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its holdings in Hope Bancorp by 117.5% during the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 158,626 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,826,000 after purchasing an additional 85,709 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in Hope Bancorp during the first quarter valued at about $915,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in Hope Bancorp by 18.9% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 202,012 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,325,000 after acquiring an additional 32,056 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC raised its position in Hope Bancorp by 36.7% in the fourth quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 180,128 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,176,000 after acquiring an additional 48,323 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hope Bancorp by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,730,473 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $165,864,000 after purchasing an additional 115,826 shares in the last quarter. 84.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hope Bancorp Company Profile

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.