Empowered Funds LLC Buys Shares of 496,619 Hope Bancorp, Inc. $HOPE

Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of Hope Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOPE) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 496,619 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,794,000. Empowered Funds LLC owned approximately 0.39% of Hope Bancorp at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Hope Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at $362,000. Corient Private Wealth LP purchased a new position in Hope Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at about $426,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Hope Bancorp during the second quarter valued at about $12,098,000. Man Group plc bought a new stake in shares of Hope Bancorp during the second quarter valued at about $545,000. Finally, Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hope Bancorp in the second quarter worth about $583,000. 84.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hope Bancorp

In other news, Director Daisy Y. Ha sold 26,995 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.24, for a total transaction of $384,408.80. Following the sale, the director owned 346,120 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,928,748.80. This trade represents a 7.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 2.27% of the company’s stock.

Hope Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of HOPE opened at $13.92 on Monday. Hope Bancorp, Inc. has a 12-month low of $9.80 and a 12-month high of $14.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company has a market cap of $1.78 billion, a PE ratio of 13.92 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $13.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $12.64.

Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $147.82 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $146.50 million. Hope Bancorp had a net margin of 12.53% and a return on equity of 5.71%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.22) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Hope Bancorp, Inc. will post 1.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hope Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 6th were issued a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 6th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Hope Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.