Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) Shares Gap Up on Strong Earnings

Hope Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOPE)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Monday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $12.12, but opened at $12.62. Hope Bancorp shares last traded at $11.86, with a volume of 272,799 shares traded.

The financial services provider reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by $0.03. Hope Bancorp had a net margin of 9.81% and a return on equity of 5.52%.

Hope Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 6th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.78%. Hope Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HOPE has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Hope Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of Hope Bancorp from $15.50 to $14.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hope Bancorp

In other news, Director Steven Koh sold 96,620 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.33, for a total value of $1,287,944.60. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,167,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,216,416.59. The trade was a 2.96 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Angelee Harris sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.16, for a total transaction of $42,480.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,795 shares in the company, valued at approximately $280,297.20. This represents a 13.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 129,224 shares of company stock valued at $1,737,873 in the last three months. 5.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in Hope Bancorp by 31.2% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 3,563 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 848 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hope Bancorp in the third quarter valued at $48,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Hope Bancorp in the third quarter valued at $58,000. KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of Hope Bancorp by 36.6% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,093 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 1,901 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Hope Bancorp by 15.7% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 9,109 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $114,000 after purchasing an additional 1,238 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.00% of the company’s stock.

Hope Bancorp Trading Down 4.4 %

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $12.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $12.65. The firm has a market cap of $1.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.94 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96.

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.