Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) Stock Price Crosses Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Hope Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOPE) shares crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $11.14 and traded as high as $11.38. Hope Bancorp shares last traded at $11.05, with a volume of 1,147,510 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of Hope Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hope Bancorp in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Hope Bancorp from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $14.50 price target on shares of Hope Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hope Bancorp has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.75.

Hope Bancorp Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The stock has a market cap of $1.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.02 and a beta of 0.85. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $11.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.14.

Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.01. Hope Bancorp had a net margin of 5.81% and a return on equity of 5.09%. The company had revenue of $145.76 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $142.90 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.20 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 23.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Hope Bancorp, Inc. will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Hope Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 6th were paid a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 6th. Hope Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 121.74%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Daisy Y. Ha sold 31,020 shares of Hope Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.48, for a total transaction of $387,129.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 5.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hope Bancorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HOPE. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of Hope Bancorp by 91.5% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 32,828 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $344,000 after purchasing an additional 15,687 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Hope Bancorp by 4.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 68,936 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $722,000 after buying an additional 3,005 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hope Bancorp by 147.1% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 492,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,153,000 after buying an additional 292,994 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new position in shares of Hope Bancorp during the first quarter worth about $297,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC raised its position in Hope Bancorp by 676.8% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 227,116 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,378,000 after buying an additional 197,877 shares during the last quarter. 84.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hope Bancorp Company Profile

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.