Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Buys 1,700 Shares of Hope Bancorp, Inc. $HOPE

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its stake in Hope Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOPE) by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 36,926 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,700 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Hope Bancorp were worth $396,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of HOPE. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in Hope Bancorp by 294.0% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,428 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 2,558 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hope Bancorp by 29.3% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,345 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 1,211 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Hope Bancorp by 16.6% in the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 8,269 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 1,176 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Hope Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $105,000. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in Hope Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $110,000. 84.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

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 stock was sold at an average price of $11.02, for a total transaction of $38,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 24,241 shares in the company, valued at $267,135.82. The trade was a 12.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,102 shares of company stock worth $76,068. Insiders own 5.16% of the company’s stock.

Hope Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ HOPE opened at $10.68 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $1.37 billion, a PE ratio of 30.51 and a beta of 0.92. Hope Bancorp, Inc. has a 52 week low of $8.82 and a 52 week high of $14.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $10.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $10.47.

Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported ($0.22) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by ($0.43). Hope Bancorp had a net margin of 4.27% and a return on equity of 4.45%. The company had revenue of $94.58 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $133.90 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.22 EPS. Research analysts predict that Hope Bancorp, Inc. will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Hope Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st were paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. Hope Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 160.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on HOPE. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Hope Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Hope Bancorp from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hope Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.