Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Acquires 175,788 Shares of Hope Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOPE)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in shares of Hope Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOPE) by 82.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 389,706 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 175,788 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Hope Bancorp were worth $4,186,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HOPE. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Hope Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $9,960,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in Hope Bancorp by 455.8% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 220,046 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,683,000 after purchasing an additional 180,458 shares during the last quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hope Bancorp by 36.7% during the 4th quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 180,128 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,176,000 after purchasing an additional 48,323 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in shares of Hope Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,977,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hope Bancorp by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,730,473 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $165,864,000 after buying an additional 115,826 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.00% of the company’s stock.

Hope Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:HOPE opened at $12.40 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.50 billion, a PE ratio of 12.40 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Hope Bancorp, Inc. has a 12-month low of $8.15 and a 12-month high of $13.59. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $12.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.34.

Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22. The business had revenue of $116.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $121.27 million. Hope Bancorp had a return on equity of 5.85% and a net margin of 10.02%. Hope Bancorp’s quarterly revenue was down 20.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.32 EPS. Research 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 8th were issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 8th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.52%. Hope Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 56.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HOPE has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Hope Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted 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.

Insider Activity

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 transaction of $39,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 25,952 shares in the company, valued at approximately $321,804.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Jinho Doo sold 10,703 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.40, for a total value of $132,717.20. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,538 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $267,071.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas Stenger sold 3,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 $321,804.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 25,831 shares of company stock worth $323,657. Corporate insiders own 5.29% of the company’s stock.

Hope Bancorp Company Profile

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.