Empowered Funds LLC Makes New $6.79 Million Investment in Hope Bancorp, Inc. $HOPE

Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hope Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOPE) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 496,619 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,794,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hope Bancorp by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 11,647 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $128,000 after acquiring an additional 960 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in Hope Bancorp by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 18,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $198,000 after acquiring an additional 1,051 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Hope Bancorp by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 22,218 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $244,000 after acquiring an additional 1,074 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in Hope Bancorp by 2.8% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 60,053 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $644,000 after purchasing an additional 1,659 shares during the period. Finally, Strs Ohio grew its holdings in Hope Bancorp by 3.0% in the first quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 69,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $774,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.00% of the company’s stock.

Hope Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of HOPE stock opened at $13.92 on Monday. Hope Bancorp, Inc. has a one year low of $9.80 and a one year high of $14.59. The company’s 50-day moving average is $13.80 and its 200 day moving average is $12.64. The company has a market capitalization of $1.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.92 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 (NASDAQ:HOPE) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.01. Hope Bancorp had a net margin of 12.53% and a return on equity of 5.71%. The firm had revenue of $147.82 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $146.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.22) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Hope Bancorp, Inc. will post 1.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hope Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 6th were given a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 6th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. Hope Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 56.00%.

Insider Transactions at Hope Bancorp

In other Hope Bancorp news, Director Daisy Y. Ha sold 26,995 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.24, for a total transaction of $384,408.80. Following the sale, the director directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.27% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on HOPE shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price 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. Weiss Ratings upgraded Hope Bancorp from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price objective on Hope Bancorp from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus 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.