Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) Shares Gap Up on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Shares of Hope Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOPE) gapped up prior to trading on Monday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $12.12, but opened at $12.62. Hope Bancorp shares last traded at $11.86, with a volume of 272,799 shares traded.

The financial services provider reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.03. Hope Bancorp had a net margin of 9.81% and a return on equity of 5.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Hope Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hope Bancorp

In other Hope Bancorp news, Director Daisy Y. Ha sold 27,104 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.83, for a total transaction of $374,848.32. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 446,806 shares in the company, valued at $6,179,326.98. This trade represents a 5.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Angelee Harris sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.16, for a total transaction of $42,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,795 shares in the company, valued at $280,297.20. This trade represents a 13.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 129,224 shares of company stock worth $1,737,873. Insiders own 5.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Hope Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Hope Bancorp by 30.1% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,553,508 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $57,192,000 after buying an additional 1,054,124 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Hope Bancorp by 47.0% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,055,151 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,968,000 after buying an additional 337,599 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Hope Bancorp by 109.9% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 253,437 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,183,000 after purchasing an additional 132,677 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Hope Bancorp by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,152,656 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $77,277,000 after buying an additional 112,824 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Hope Bancorp by 12.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 893,172 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,218,000 after buying an additional 95,570 shares during the last quarter. 84.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hope Bancorp Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The business’s fifty day moving average is $12.70 and its 200 day moving average is $12.65. The company has a market cap of $1.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.58 and a beta of 1.16.

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.