Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) Rating Increased to Hold at StockNews.com

Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Friday.

Hope Bancorp Stock Performance

Hope Bancorp stock traded down $0.03 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $13.45. 331,055 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 718,810. Hope Bancorp has a 1 year low of $9.80 and a 1 year high of $14.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.05 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $13.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $12.10.

Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.22 by ($0.01). Hope Bancorp had a return on equity of 5.52% and a net margin of 9.81%. The business had revenue of $246.92 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $121.67 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.25 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Hope Bancorp will post 0.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Trading of Hope Bancorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hope Bancorp by 4.7% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 209,884 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,722,000 after buying an additional 9,499 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Hope Bancorp by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,842,056 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $35,703,000 after acquiring an additional 48,237 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Hope Bancorp by 109.9% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 253,437 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,183,000 after purchasing an additional 132,677 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in Hope Bancorp by 66.8% during the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 170,936 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,147,000 after purchasing an additional 68,460 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Hope Bancorp by 30.1% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,553,508 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $57,192,000 after purchasing an additional 1,054,124 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.00% of the company's stock.

About Hope Bancorp

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.