Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) Is Paying Out A Dividend Of $0.14

Hope Bancorp, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:HOPE) investors are due to receive a payment of $0.14 per share on 16th of February. This means the annual payment is 4.5% of the current stock price, which is above the average for the industry.

See our latest analysis for Hope Bancorp

Hope Bancorp's Dividend Forecasted To Be Well Covered By Earnings

If the payments aren't sustainable, a high yield for a few years won't matter that much.

Having distributed dividends for at least 10 years, Hope Bancorp has a long history of paying out a part of its earnings to shareholders. Past distributions do not necessarily guarantee future ones, but Hope Bancorp's payout ratio of 31% is a good sign as this means that earnings decently cover dividends.

Over the next 3 years, EPS is forecast to fall by 21.1%. However, as estimated by analysts, the future payout ratio could be 36% over the same time period, which we think the company can easily maintain.

Hope Bancorp Has A Solid Track Record

Even over a long history of paying dividends, the company's distributions have been remarkably stable. Since 2013, the annual payment back then was $0.20, compared to the most recent full-year payment of $0.56. This means that it has been growing its distributions at 11% per annum over that time. Rapidly growing dividends for a long time is a very valuable feature for an income stock.

The Dividend Looks Likely To Grow

Some investors will be chomping at the bit to buy some of the company's stock based on its dividend history. We are encouraged to see that Hope Bancorp has grown earnings per share at 12% per year over the past five years. With a decent amount of growth and a low payout ratio, we think this bodes well for Hope Bancorp's prospects of growing its dividend payments in the future.

We Really Like Hope Bancorp's Dividend

In summary, it is good to see that the dividend is staying consistent, and we don't think there is any reason to suspect this might change over the medium term. The earnings easily cover the company's distributions, and the company is generating plenty of cash. If earnings do fall over the next 12 months, the dividend could be buffeted a little bit, but we don't think it should cause too much of a problem in the long term. Taking this all into consideration, this looks like it could be a good dividend opportunity.

Market movements attest to how highly valued a consistent dividend policy is compared to one which is more unpredictable. At the same time, there are other factors our readers should be conscious of before pouring capital into a stock. As an example, we've identified 1 warning sign for Hope Bancorp that you should be aware of before investing. Is Hope Bancorp not quite the opportunity you were looking for? Why not check out our selection of top dividend stocks.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.