Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) Share Price Breaks Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Hope Bancorp shares crossed above their 200-day moving average, reaching $13.75 before closing at $13.57, although the stock was down 0.8% and remained below its 50-day average of $13.96.
• Analysts hold a generally positive outlook, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a $15.50 target price; recent targets range from $15 to $16.
• The company exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.27 EPS versus $0.26 expected, and maintains a $0.14 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 4.1% yield.

Hope Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOPE - Get Free Report)'s share price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $13.06 and traded as high as $13.75. Hope Bancorp shares last traded at $13.57, with a volume of 1,048,202 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on HOPE. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Hope Bancorp from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Benchmark upgraded Hope Bancorp to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Hope Bancorp from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Hope Bancorp from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $15.50.

Hope Bancorp Trading Down 0.8%

The company has a 50 day moving average of $13.96 and a 200 day moving average of $13.06. The firm has a market cap of $1.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.57 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $147.82 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $146.50 million. Hope Bancorp had a return on equity of 5.71% and a net margin of 12.53%.During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.22) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Hope Bancorp, Inc. will post 1.14 EPS for the current year.

Hope Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 6th were paid a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 6th. Hope Bancorp's payout ratio is presently 56.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Daisy Ha sold 26,995 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director directly owned 346,120 shares in the company, valued at $4,928,748.80. This represents a 7.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 2.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hope Bancorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HOPE. Cim Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hope Bancorp by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter. Cim Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,743 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $161,000 after purchasing an additional 795 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hope Bancorp by 14.8% during the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,521 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $308,000 after acquiring an additional 2,902 shares during the period. Engineers Gate Manager LP lifted its position in Hope Bancorp by 387.0% during the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 56,438 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $772,000 after purchasing an additional 44,848 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Hope Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its stake in Hope Bancorp by 579.3% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 155,861 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,132,000 after acquiring an additional 132,917 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.00% of the company's stock.

Hope Bancorp Company Profile

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

Bank of Hope offers a range of banking products and services, including business and personal deposit accounts, commercial and residential real estate lending, commercial and industrial loans, Small Business Administration financing, consumer loans and online banking.

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