Hope Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOPE) Short Interest Down 15.8% in February

Hope Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOPE) saw a large decline in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,700,000 shares, a decline of 15.8% from the January 31st total of 2,020,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 663,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.6 days. Currently, 1.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Hope Bancorp Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:HOPE traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $10.49. The stock had a trading volume of 423,030 shares, compared to its average volume of 662,891. The company’s 50 day moving average is $11.67 and its 200-day moving average is $12.45. Hope Bancorp has a 12-month low of $9.80 and a 12-month high of $14.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.97. The company has a market cap of $1.27 billion, a PE ratio of 12.80 and a beta of 1.15.

Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by $0.03. Hope Bancorp had a return on equity of 4.84% and a net margin of 9.95%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Hope Bancorp will post 1.09 EPS for the current year.

Hope Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 6th were paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 6th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.34%. Hope Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. DA Davidson dropped their price target on shares of Hope Bancorp from $15.50 to $14.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Hope Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Hope Bancorp from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hope Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.88.

Insider Transactions at Hope Bancorp

In other news, EVP Thomas Stenger sold 4,185 shares of Hope Bancorp stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.83, for a total transaction of $49,508.55. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,267 shares in the company, valued at approximately $227,928.61. This trade represents a 17.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 5.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Hope Bancorp

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HOPE. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in Hope Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,945,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Hope Bancorp by 30.0% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 286,356 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,519,000 after acquiring an additional 66,076 shares during the last quarter. WBI Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hope Bancorp by 26.6% during the fourth quarter. WBI Investments LLC now owns 15,901 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $195,000 after acquiring an additional 3,337 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hope Bancorp by 44.3% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 35,033 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $431,000 after acquiring an additional 10,752 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its stake in Hope Bancorp by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 13,515 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $166,000 after purchasing an additional 1,786 shares in the last quarter. 84.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.