Hope Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOPE) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Hope Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOPE) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,140,000 shares, a growth of 13.2% from the October 31st total of 1,890,000 shares. Currently, 1.9% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 721,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.0 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Hope Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st.

Hope Bancorp Stock Down 1.6 %

NASDAQ HOPE traded down $0.22 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $13.48. The company had a trading volume of 100,729 shares, compared to its average volume of 720,306. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $12.98 and its 200 day moving average is $12.04. The company has a market capitalization of $1.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.31 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96. Hope Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $9.80 and a fifty-two week high of $14.53.

Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by ($0.01). Hope Bancorp had a return on equity of 5.52% and a net margin of 9.81%. The firm had revenue of $246.92 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $121.67 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.25 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Hope Bancorp will post 0.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hope Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.15%. Hope Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hope Bancorp

In other news, EVP Angelee Harris sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was 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 directly owns 19,795 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $280,297.20. This represents a 13.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Daisy Y. Ha sold 27,104 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.83, for a total value of $374,848.32. Following the transaction, the director now owns 446,806 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,179,326.98. This represents a 5.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 129,474 shares of company stock worth $1,739,618 over the last quarter. Insiders own 5.29% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hope Bancorp

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its position in Hope Bancorp by 8.5% in the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 11,729 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $147,000 after purchasing an additional 919 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in Hope Bancorp by 2.0% during the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 60,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $652,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its stake 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 during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC increased its stake in Hope Bancorp by 4.5% in the second quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 32,603 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $350,000 after purchasing an additional 1,413 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SummerHaven Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Hope Bancorp by 1.8% in the second quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 84,949 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $912,000 after purchasing an additional 1,484 shares during the period. 84.00% of the stock is 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.