Hope Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOPE) Short Interest Update

Hope Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOPE) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,030,000 shares, an increase of 28.4% from the July 31st total of 2,360,000 shares. Approximately 2.7% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 805,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.8 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on HOPE shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Hope Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Hope Bancorp from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th.

Insider Transactions at Hope Bancorp

In other Hope Bancorp news, Director Jinho Doo sold 10,703 shares of Hope Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.40, for a total value of $132,717.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 21,538 shares in the company, valued at approximately $267,071.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Jinho Doo sold 10,703 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.40, for a total value of $132,717.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,538 shares in the company, valued at approximately $267,071.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Thomas Stenger sold 3,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.40, for a total transaction of $39,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 25,952 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $321,804.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 17,760 shares of company stock worth $210,736. 5.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hope Bancorp

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in Hope Bancorp by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 60,099 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $645,000 after buying an additional 1,597 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its holdings in shares of Hope Bancorp by 7.8% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 265,341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,850,000 after purchasing an additional 19,113 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in shares of Hope Bancorp by 82.2% in the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 389,706 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,186,000 after purchasing an additional 175,788 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in shares of Hope Bancorp by 10.9% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 210,562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,262,000 after buying an additional 20,641 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AE Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Hope Bancorp during the second quarter valued at approximately $112,000. 84.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hope Bancorp Price Performance

HOPE stock traded up $0.08 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $12.79. The company had a trading volume of 494,777 shares, compared to its average volume of 613,524. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $11.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $11.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The company has a market capitalization of $1.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.79 and a beta of 1.15. Hope Bancorp has a 1 year low of $8.15 and a 1 year high of $13.59.

Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22. The firm had revenue of $116.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $121.27 million. Hope Bancorp had a return on equity of 5.85% and a net margin of 10.02%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.32 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Hope Bancorp will post 0.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hope Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 8th were issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.38%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 8th. Hope Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.00%.

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.