Hope Bancorp Inc (HOPE)
NASDAQ:HOPE
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Hope Bancorp
(NASDAQ:HOPE)
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Rating:66Neutral
Price Target:
$13.00
▲(19.05% Upside)
Action:ReiteratedDate:02/26/26
The score is driven primarily by solid underlying financial footing (stronger balance sheet and supportive cash flow) and a notably positive 2026 outlook from the earnings call. These positives are tempered by weakened profitability trends into 2025, a mixed near-term technical setup, and a less attractive valuation backdrop due to a relatively high P/E despite a strong dividend yield.
Positive Factors
Conservative Balance Sheet
Hope’s low recent leverage and rising equity provide durable capital resilience. A stronger capital base and conservative debt-to-equity give the bank room to absorb credit stress, maintain dividends and buybacks, and support lending growth without immediate capital raises over the medium term.
Negative Factors
Weakening Profitability
Margins and returns have deteriorated sharply over the last two years, indicating lower earnings power despite balance-sheet strength. Sustained margin compression and falling ROE constrain the bank’s ability to convert asset growth into shareholder returns without material efficiency or revenue improvements.
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Positive Factors
Negative Factors
Conservative Balance Sheet
Hope’s low recent leverage and rising equity provide durable capital resilience. A stronger capital base and conservative debt-to-equity give the bank room to absorb credit stress, maintain dividends and buybacks, and support lending growth without immediate capital raises over the medium term.
Read all positive factors
Hope Bancorp (HOPE) vs. SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY)
Market Cap
$1.40B
Dividend Yield4.97%
Average Volume (3M)818.81K
Price to Earnings (P/E)10.2
Beta (1Y)0.86
Revenue Growth-7.96%
EPS Growth-52.79%
CountryUS
Employees1,227
SectorFinancial
Sector Strength70
IndustryBanks - Regional
Share Statistics
EPS (TTM)0.27
Shares Outstanding128,203,740
10 Day Avg. Volume900,175
30 Day Avg. Volume818,806
Financial Highlights & Ratios
PEG Ratio-0.54
Price to Book (P/B)0.62
Price to Sales (P/S)1.46
P/FCF Ratio9.32
Enterprise Value/Market Cap0.88
Enterprise Value/Revenue1.28
Enterprise Value/Gross Profit2.63
Enterprise Value/Ebitda14.77
Forecast
1Y Price Target
$13.75Price Target Upside25.92% Upside
Rating ConsensusModerate Buy
Number of Analyst Covering2
EPS Forecast (FY)1.11
Revenue Forecast (FY)$613.30M
Hope Bancorp Business Overview & Revenue Model
Company Description
Hope Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Bank of Hope that provides banking services for small and medium-sized businesses, and individuals in the United States. The company accepts personal and business checking, money market, ...
How the Company Makes Money
Hope Bancorp generates revenue primarily through interest income from loans and investment securities. The company offers various loan products such as commercial real estate loans, construction loans, and residential mortgages, which yield intere...
Hope Bancorp Earnings Call Summary
Earnings Call Date:Jan 27, 2026
(Q4-2025)
| % Change Since: |
Next Earnings Date:Apr 28, 2026
Earnings Call Sentiment Positive
The call conveyed strong underlying financial momentum with material year-over-year net income and net interest income growth, meaningful NIM expansion, improving asset quality, and clear 2026 targets for loan and revenue growth. Capital remains strong with a dividend and buyback authorization. Headwinds include elevated noninterest expense related to strategic hiring, a high efficiency ratio (68%) that management aims to improve over time, some seasonal deposit volatility and dependence on an acquisition for part of YoY growth, and margin sensitivity to future Fed rate moves. On balance, the positives in revenue, asset quality, and outlook materially outweigh the lowlights.Positive Updates
Strong Net Income Growth
Net income of $34.0M in 4Q25, up 42% year-over-year (from $24.0M) and up 12% quarter-over-quarter (from $31.0M), driven by higher net interest income, stronger fee income, lower provision for credit losses, and lower tax expense.
Negative Updates
Elevated Noninterest Expense and Hiring-Driven Costs
Noninterest expense of $99M in 4Q25, up from $97M in 3Q25 and $78M in 4Q24, reflecting compensation and hiring to support revenue initiatives; management views 4Q25 noninterest expense as a reasonable starting run rate for 2026, with OpEx growth guidance in low single digits (sub-5%).
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Q4-2025 Updates
Positive
Negative
Strong Net Income Growth
Net income of $34.0M in 4Q25, up 42% year-over-year (from $24.0M) and up 12% quarter-over-quarter (from $31.0M), driven by higher net interest income, stronger fee income, lower provision for credit losses, and lower tax expense.
Read all positive updates
Company Guidance
Management guided 2026 to high‑single‑digit loan growth and 15–20% revenue growth, with pre‑provision net revenue (excluding notable items) expected to grow 25–30% year‑over‑year; the plan assumes two Fed funds cuts of 25 bps each (June and September 2026) and NIM tailwinds from downward repricing of time deposits and upward repricing of maturing 5‑year CRE loans. They said Q4‑2025 noninterest expense of $99 million (efficiency ratio ~68%) is a reasonable starting quarterly run rate for 2026, expect OpEx growth in the low single digits (sub‑5%), an effective tax rate of 20–25%, and continued deposit cost improvement (spot deposit cost 2.68% as of 12/31/25) as $6.3 billion of CDs reprice in 2026 (about $2.5 billion in Q1 repricing from a 3.99% weighted‑average rate, with new roll‑ons roughly 3.70–3.80%). Over the medium term they target ~1.2% return on average assets, normalized revenue growth >10%, and an efficiency ratio in the mid‑50s.Hope Bancorp Financial Statement Overview
Summary
Income Statement
54
Neutral
Balance Sheet
72
Positive
Cash Flow
64
Positive
| Breakdown | Dec 2025 | Dec 2024 | Dec 2023 | Dec 2022 | Dec 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Income Statement | |||||
| Total Revenue | 967.79M | 1.00B | 1.09B | 767.51M | 610.13M |
| Gross Profit | 470.36M | 456.64M | 539.85M | 619.97M | 568.56M |
| EBITDA | 83.67M | 132.96M | 177.89M | 296.05M | 275.27M |
| Net Income | 58.52M | 99.63M | 133.67M | 218.28M | 204.57M |
Balance Sheet | |||||
| Total Assets | 18.53B | 17.05B | 19.13B | 19.16B | 17.89B |
| Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments | 2.63B | 458.20M | 4.07B | 2.48B | 3.00B |
| Total Debt | 395.88M | 392.64M | 1.96B | 1.25B | 678.87M |
| Total Liabilities | 16.25B | 14.92B | 17.01B | 17.15B | 15.80B |
| Stockholders Equity | 2.28B | 2.13B | 2.12B | 2.02B | 2.09B |
Cash Flow | |||||
| Free Cash Flow | 151.46M | 106.91M | 460.65M | 476.42M | 316.99M |
| Operating Cash Flow | 164.55M | 116.72M | 473.78M | 485.54M | 324.21M |
| Investing Cash Flow | 525.31M | 466.52M | 1.29B | -1.47B | -993.04M |
| Financing Cash Flow | -588.00M | -2.05B | -341.47M | 1.18B | 634.52M |
Hope Bancorp Technical Analysis
Negative
10.92
Price Trends
11.57
Negative
11.18
Negative
10.80
Positive
Market Momentum
-0.15
Negative
41.50
Neutral
62.96
Neutral
Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For HOPE, the sentiment is Negative. The current price of 10.92 is below the 20-day moving average (MA) of 11.02, below the 50-day MA of 11.57, and above the 200-day MA of 10.80, indicating a neutral trend. The MACD of -0.15 indicates Negative momentum. The RSI at 41.50 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 62.96 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Negative sentiment for HOPE.
Hope Bancorp Risk Analysis
Hope Bancorp disclosed 34 risk factors in its most recent earnings report. Hope Bancorp reported the most risks in the "Finance & Corporate" category.
Finance & Corporate - Financial and accounting risks. Risks related to the execution of corporate activity and strategy
Latest Risks Added 0 New Risks
Hope Bancorp Peers Comparison
UnderperformOutperform
Sector (68)
Name | Overall Rating | Market Cap | P/E Ratio | ROE | Dividend Yield | Revenue Growth | EPS Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
73 Outperform | $1.44B | 10.17 | 4.23% | 3.14% | -1.79% | -23.87% | |
70 Outperform | $1.50B | 12.64 | 9.20% | 2.83% | 0.93% | 5.65% | |
68 Neutral | $1.71B | 22.62 | 8.05% | 3.07% | -2.46% | -1.98% | |
68 Neutral | $18.00B | 11.42 | 9.92% | 3.81% | 9.73% | 1.22% | |
66 Neutral | $1.40B | 10.24 | 2.62% | 4.97% | -7.96% | -52.79% | |
65 Neutral | $1.40B | 10.97 | 11.80% | 0.28% | -2.42% | 3.83% | |
50 Neutral | $1.32B | 58.33 | 2.77% | ― | 2.04% | -64.17% |
* Financial Sector Average
HOPE
Hope Bancorp
10.92
1.04
10.48%
DCOM
Dime Community Bancshares
32.88
6.20
23.25%
QCRH
QCR Holdings
83.42
11.72
16.35%
TCBK
Trico Bancshares
46.51
7.86
20.34%
TFIN
Triumph Financial
55.67
-3.13
-5.32%
NBHC
National Bank Holdings
37.94
0.41
1.09%
Hope Bancorp Corporate Events
Business Operations and StrategyDividendsFinancial Disclosures
Hope Bancorp Reports Strong Q4 Earnings and Dividend
Positive
Jan 27, 2026
On January 27, 2026, Hope Bancorp reported unaudited results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2025, and announced a quarterly cash dividend of $0.14 per common share payable in February 2026 to stockholders of record as of e...
Business Operations and StrategyExecutive/Board Changes
Hope Bancorp updates governance amid director retirement
Neutral
Jan 16, 2026
On January 13, 2026, long-serving director Scott Yoon-Suk Whang notified Hope Bancorp’s board that he will retire and not stand for re-election at the company’s 2026 annual meeting, ending a board tenure that began in 2007 and included...
Glossary
BuyA stock rated as a "Buy" is expected to perform better than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock is likely to deliver higher returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
HoldA stock rated as a "Hold" is expected to perform in line with the overall market or a specific benchmark. This rating indicates that the stock is neither particularly compelling nor unfavorable for investment. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
SellA stock rated as a "Sell" is expected to perform worse than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock may deliver lower returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
Disclaimer
This AI Analyst Stock Report is automatically generated by our AI systems using advanced algorithms and publicly available financial, technical, and market data. While the information provided aims to be accurate and insightful, it is intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Any content created by an AI (Artificial Intelligence) system may contain inaccuracies and/or contain errors. Investing in stocks carries inherent risks, and past performance is not indicative of future results. This report does not account for your personal financial circumstances, objectives, or risk tolerance. Always conduct your own research or consult with a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions. The analysis and recommendations provided are based on historical and current data and may not fully reflect future market conditions or unexpected developments. Neither the creators of this report nor its affiliated entities guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information presented. Use this report at your own discretion and risk.