Piper Sandler Lowers Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) Price Target to $12.00

Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) had its price target decreased by stock analysts at Piper Sandler from $13.00 to $12.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Piper Sandler’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 2.92% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on HOPE. DA Davidson cut their price objective on Hope Bancorp from $15.50 to $14.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com raised shares of Hope Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.88.

Hope Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of HOPE stock opened at $11.66 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The company has a market capitalization of $1.41 billion, a PE ratio of 14.22 and a beta of 1.16. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $12.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.64. Hope Bancorp has a 12 month low of $9.80 and a 12 month high of $14.53.

Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.03. Hope Bancorp had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 4.84%. Analysts predict that Hope Bancorp will post 1.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Hope Bancorp

In other Hope Bancorp news, EVP Angelee Harris sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.16, for a total transaction of $42,480.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,795 shares in the company, valued at $280,297.20. This represents a 13.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Thomas Stenger sold 4,185 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.83, for a total transaction of $49,508.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $227,928.61. This represents a 17.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 133,409 shares of company stock worth $1,787,381 in the last three months. 5.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hope Bancorp

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HOPE. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in Hope Bancorp by 31.2% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 3,563 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 848 shares in the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hope Bancorp during the third quarter worth approximately $48,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Hope Bancorp in the third quarter valued at approximately $58,000. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Hope Bancorp by 36.6% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,093 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $87,000 after acquiring an additional 1,901 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC grew its holdings in Hope Bancorp by 15.7% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 9,109 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $114,000 after acquiring an additional 1,238 shares in the last quarter. 84.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.