Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) Cut to Neutral at DA Davidson

Key Points

• DA Davidson downgraded Hope Bancorp from “buy” to “neutral” and set a $14 price target, implying approximately 3.1% upside from the stock’s $13.58 price.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly cautious: Hope Bancorp has an average “hold” rating and a consensus price target of $14.50 from six analysts.
• The company’s latest quarterly results met expectations with $0.29 in EPS and exceeded revenue estimates, reporting $157.48 million versus the $151.34 million consensus.

Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at DA Davidson from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report issued on Friday, Briefing.com reports. They presently have a $14.00 target price on the financial services provider's stock. DA Davidson's target price would indicate a potential upside of 3.09% from the stock's current price.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Benchmark upgraded Hope Bancorp to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Hope Bancorp from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Hope Bancorp from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hope Bancorp presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $14.50.

Hope Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of HOPE stock opened at $13.58 on Friday. 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 has a 52 week low of $9.80 and a 52 week high of $14.59. The business has a 50 day moving average of $13.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $12.81. The company has a market cap of $1.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.06 and a beta of 0.87.

Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.29. The firm had revenue of $157.48 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $151.34 million. Hope Bancorp had a net margin of 12.90% and a return on equity of 5.97%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.25 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Hope Bancorp will post 1.14 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Hope Bancorp

In other Hope Bancorp news, Director Daisy Ha sold 26,995 shares of Hope Bancorp stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.24, for a total transaction of $384,408.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 346,120 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,928,748.80. The trade was a 7.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.27% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hope Bancorp

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HOPE. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in Hope Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in 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 valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,703 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Hope Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Hope Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Hope Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. 84.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Hope Bancorp

Hope Bancorp, Inc is the holding company for Bank of Hope, a full-service commercial bank headquartered in Los Angeles, California. The bank serves businesses, individuals and communities throughout the United States, with a particular focus on Korean American and other multicultural markets.

Bank of Hope offers a range of banking products and services, including business and consumer deposit accounts, commercial and industrial lending, commercial real estate financing, small business loans, residential mortgage lending and wealth management services.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.