American Century Companies Inc. Purchases 296,469 Shares of Hope Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOPE)

American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hope Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOPE) by 17.4% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,000,739 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 296,469 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Hope Bancorp were worth $21,488,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its position in shares of Hope Bancorp by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 12,814 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $155,000 after purchasing an additional 1,033 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Hope Bancorp by 2.0% in the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 60,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $652,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. Bridge City Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Hope Bancorp by 0.8% during the first quarter. Bridge City Capital LLC now owns 167,405 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,927,000 after acquiring an additional 1,263 shares during the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp grew its stake in Hope Bancorp by 1.4% during the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 105,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,210,000 after acquiring an additional 1,422 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SummerHaven Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Hope Bancorp by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 84,949 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $912,000 after acquiring an additional 1,484 shares during the last quarter. 84.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hope Bancorp Price Performance

HOPE stock opened at $13.21 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $12.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.26. Hope Bancorp, Inc. has a 52 week low of $8.15 and a 52 week high of $13.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.21 and a beta of 1.13.

Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22. Hope Bancorp had a net margin of 10.02% and a return on equity of 5.85%. The firm had revenue of $116.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $121.27 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.32 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Hope Bancorp, Inc. will post 0.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hope Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 8th were given a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 8th. Hope Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.00%.

Insider Activity at Hope Bancorp

In other Hope Bancorp news, EVP Thomas Stenger sold 3,200 shares of Hope Bancorp stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.40, for a total transaction of $39,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,952 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $321,804.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Thomas Stenger sold 3,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.40, for a total value of $39,680.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,952 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $321,804.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director David P. Malone sold 10,428 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.71, for a total value of $132,539.88. Following the transaction, the director now owns 109,991 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,397,985.61. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 25,831 shares of company stock worth $323,657. Company insiders own 5.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on HOPE. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Hope Bancorp from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. StockNews.com raised Hope Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th.

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.