Hope Bancorp, Inc. $HOPE Stake Boosted by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hope Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOPE) by 6.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,195,059 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 188,182 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 2.49% of Hope Bancorp worth $34,411,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in Hope Bancorp by 91.5% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 32,828 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $344,000 after purchasing an additional 15,687 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in Hope Bancorp by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 68,936 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $722,000 after buying an additional 3,005 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in Hope Bancorp by 147.1% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 492,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,153,000 after buying an additional 292,994 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new stake in Hope Bancorp in the first quarter valued at $297,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hope Bancorp by 676.8% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 227,116 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,378,000 after acquiring an additional 197,877 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.00% of the company’s stock.

Hope Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HOPE opened at $11.14 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.22 and a beta of 0.85. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $11.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.15. Hope Bancorp, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $8.82 and a fifty-two week high of $12.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $145.76 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $142.90 million. Hope Bancorp had a net margin of 5.81% and a return on equity of 5.09%. Hope Bancorp’s revenue was up 23.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.20 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Hope Bancorp, Inc. will post 1.09 EPS for the current year.

Hope Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 6th were issued a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 6th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.0%. Hope Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 121.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Hope Bancorp from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $14.50 price objective on shares of Hope Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Zacks Research cut shares of Hope Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hope Bancorp in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Hope Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.75.

Insider Activity at Hope Bancorp

In related news, Director David P. Malone sold 20,820 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.50, for a total transaction of $239,430.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 66,658 shares in the company, valued at $766,567. This trade represents a 23.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Daisy Y. Ha sold 31,020 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.48, for a total value of $387,129.60. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 81,240 shares of company stock valued at $990,996 over the last quarter. Insiders own 5.16% of the company’s stock.

Hope Bancorp Profile

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.