Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) Share Price Passes Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Hope Bancorp's share price crossed above its 200‑day moving average of $11.40, trading as high as $12.76 and last at $12.52 on volume of about 917,273 shares.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed with two Buys and three Holds, giving an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $14.50 after several recent upgrades and target raises.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.14 (annualized $0.56, ~4.5% yield) and reported Q results with $0.23 EPS (beat by $0.01) while revenue of $126.69M missed estimates though was up 21% year‑over‑year.

Hope Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOPE - Get Free Report)'s share price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $11.40 and traded as high as $12.76. Hope Bancorp shares last traded at $12.52, with a volume of 917,273 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Hope Bancorp from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Hope Bancorp from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Hope Bancorp from $14.50 to $15.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Brean Capital upgraded shares of Hope Bancorp from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Hope Bancorp from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $14.50.

Hope Bancorp Stock Performance

The stock's 50 day moving average price is $11.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $11.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The company has a market cap of $1.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.08 and a beta of 0.84.

Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $126.69 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $145.30 million. Hope Bancorp had a net margin of 6.56% and a return on equity of 5.32%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 21.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.17 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Hope Bancorp, Inc. will post 1.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hope Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 8th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.5%. Hope Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 107.69%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hope Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Hope Bancorp by 4.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,367,855 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $82,298,000 after acquiring an additional 315,028 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its position in shares of Hope Bancorp by 6.6% in the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 69,078 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $772,000 after buying an additional 4,265 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hope Bancorp by 2.0% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 623,114 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,960,000 after buying an additional 12,275 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of Hope Bancorp by 9,776.2% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 143,303 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,601,000 after buying an additional 141,852 shares during the period. Finally, Abel Hall LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hope Bancorp in the first quarter worth about $118,000. 84.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Hope Bancorp

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.

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.