Empowered Funds LLC Buys 8,774 Shares of Hope Bancorp, Inc. $HOPE

Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Hope Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOPE) by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 449,306 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,774 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC owned 0.35% of Hope Bancorp worth $4,821,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. CKW Financial Group bought a new stake in shares of Hope Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in Hope Bancorp by 294.0% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,428 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 2,558 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Hope Bancorp by 29.3% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,345 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 1,211 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Hope Bancorp during the first quarter valued at approximately $110,000. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in shares of Hope Bancorp during the second quarter valued at approximately $116,000. Institutional investors own 84.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hope Bancorp news, EVP Angelee Harris sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.02, for a total value of $38,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 24,241 shares in the company, valued at approximately $267,135.82. The trade was a 12.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 7,202 shares of company stock valued at $77,048 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 5.16% of the company’s stock.

Hope Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of HOPE opened at $10.35 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.33 billion, a PE ratio of 26.54 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $10.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $10.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94. Hope Bancorp, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $8.82 and a fifty-two week high of $14.38.

Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by ($0.01). Hope Bancorp had a return on equity of 4.70% and a net margin of 4.89%.The company had revenue of $142.03 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $138.87 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.21 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Hope Bancorp, Inc. will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hope Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th were paid a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 7th. Hope Bancorp’s payout ratio is 143.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. DA Davidson set a $14.50 price target on Hope Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Hope Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Hope Bancorp from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hope Bancorp in a research note on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.25.

About Hope Bancorp

Hope Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Bank of Hope that provides retail and commercial banking services for businesses and individuals in the United States. It accepts personal and business checking, money market, savings, time deposit, and individual retirement accounts. The company also offers loans comprising commercial and industrial loans to businesses for various purposes, such as working capital, purchasing inventory, debt refinancing, business acquisitions, international trade finance, other business-related financing, and loans syndication services; commercial real estate loans; residential mortgage loans; small business administration loans; and consumer loans, such as single-family mortgage, home equity, automobile, credit card, and personal loans.