Short Interest in Hope Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOPE) Grows By 13.2%

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

Insider Activity at Hope Bancorp

In related news, Director Steven Koh sold 96,620 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.33, for a total value of $1,287,944.60. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,167,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,216,416.59. The trade was a 2.96 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,795 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 129,474 shares of company stock worth $1,739,618. 5.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in Hope Bancorp during the third quarter worth about $48,000. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of Hope Bancorp by 149.5% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 5,279 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 3,163 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Hope Bancorp during the third quarter worth about $58,000. Choreo LLC bought a new position in shares of Hope Bancorp in the second quarter worth approximately $108,000. Finally, AE Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Hope Bancorp in the second quarter worth approximately $112,000. Institutional investors own 84.00% of the company’s stock.

Hope Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:HOPE opened at $13.70 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $12.98 and its 200 day moving average is $12.04. The firm has a market cap of $1.65 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 quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96. Hope Bancorp has a 52-week low of $9.80 and a 52-week high of $14.53.

Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.22 by ($0.01). Hope Bancorp had a net margin of 9.81% and a return on equity of 5.52%. The company had revenue of $246.92 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $121.67 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.25 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Hope Bancorp will post 0.85 EPS for the current 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 given 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 4.09%. Hope Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.