Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) EVP Thomas Stenger Sells 1,650 Shares of Stock

Hope Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOPE) EVP Thomas Stenger sold 1,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.80, for a total transaction of $22,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 24,478 shares in the company, valued at approximately $337,796.40. The trade was a 6.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Hope Bancorp Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:HOPE opened at $13.82 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $12.74. The company has a market capitalization of $1.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.82 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.98. Hope Bancorp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $9.80 and a 52-week high of $14.59.

Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.01. Hope Bancorp had a return on equity of 5.71% and a net margin of 12.53%.The firm had revenue of $147.82 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $146.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.22) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Hope Bancorp, Inc. will post 1.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Hope Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 6th were paid a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 6th. Hope Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 56.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Hope Bancorp from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Hope Bancorp from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Hope Bancorp from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $15.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in shares of Hope Bancorp by 91.5% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 32,828 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $344,000 after acquiring an additional 15,687 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in Hope Bancorp by 4.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 68,936 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $722,000 after acquiring an additional 3,005 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Hope Bancorp by 147.1% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 492,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,153,000 after purchasing an additional 292,994 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new stake in Hope Bancorp in the 1st quarter worth about $297,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC boosted its holdings in Hope Bancorp by 676.8% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 227,116 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,378,000 after purchasing an additional 197,877 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 Hope Bank, a California-chartered financial institution serving small and middle-market businesses, professionals and affluent individuals. The company’s principal activities include accepting a variety of deposit products—such as checking accounts, savings and money market accounts, and time deposits—and extending commercial credit facilities. With a focus on community banking, Hope Bancorp tailors its offerings to meet the needs of clients in diverse industries, including real estate, professional services and import/export trade.

In its lending business, Hope Bancorp provides commercial real estate loans, construction financing, working capital lines of credit and equipment financing.