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Do These 3 Checks Before Buying Hope Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOPE) For Its Upcoming Dividend

Some investors rely on dividends for growing their wealth, and if you're one of those dividend sleuths, you might be intrigued to know that Hope Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOPE) is about to go ex-dividend in just three days. You will need to purchase shares before the 7th of August to receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 24th of August.

Hope Bancorp's next dividend payment will be US$0.14 per share. Last year, in total, the company distributed US$0.56 to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Hope Bancorp has a trailing yield of 6.6% on the current stock price of $8.43. Dividends are an important source of income to many shareholders, but the health of the business is crucial to maintaining those dividends. So we need to check whether the dividend payments are covered, and if earnings are growing.

Check out our latest analysis for Hope Bancorp

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Dividends are typically paid from company earnings. If a company pays more in dividends than it earned in profit, then the dividend could be unsustainable. Hope Bancorp paid out more than half (51%) of its earnings last year, which is a regular payout ratio for most companies.

When a company paid out less in dividends than it earned in profit, this generally suggests its dividend is affordable. The lower the % of its profit that it pays out, the greater the margin of safety for the dividend if the business enters a downturn.

Click here to see the company's payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends.

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historic-dividend

Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?

Companies that aren't growing their earnings can still be valuable, but it is even more important to assess the sustainability of the dividend if it looks like the company will struggle to grow. If earnings fall far enough, the company could be forced to cut its dividend. It's not encouraging to see that Hope Bancorp's earnings are effectively flat over the past five years. It's better than seeing them drop, certainly, but over the long term, all of the best dividend stocks are able to meaningfully grow their earnings per share.

Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. Hope Bancorp has delivered an average of 14% per year annual increase in its dividend, based on the past eight years of dividend payments.

Final Takeaway

Should investors buy Hope Bancorp for the upcoming dividend? Hope Bancorp's earnings per share have been essentially flat, and the company is paying out more than half of its earnings as dividends to shareholders. Hope Bancorp doesn't appear to have a lot going for it, and we're not inclined to take a risk on owning it for the dividend.

Having said that, if you're looking at this stock without much concern for the dividend, you should still be familiar of the risks involved with Hope Bancorp. For example - Hope Bancorp has 3 warning signs we think you should be aware of.

We wouldn't recommend just buying the first dividend stock you see, though. Here's a list of interesting dividend stocks with a greater than 2% yield and an upcoming dividend.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com.