Norges Bank Takes $4 Million Position in Hope Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOPE)

Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Hope Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOPE - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 325,520 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,001,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 0.27% of Hope Bancorp at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hope Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth about $267,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of Hope Bancorp by 8.5% in the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 11,729 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $147,000 after purchasing an additional 919 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Hope Bancorp by 1.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,152,656 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $77,277,000 after buying an additional 112,824 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Hope Bancorp by 30.1% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,553,508 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $57,192,000 after acquiring an additional 1,054,124 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Hope Bancorp by 66.8% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 170,936 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,147,000 after purchasing an additional 68,460 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Hope Bancorp from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. DA Davidson decreased their price target on shares of Hope Bancorp from $15.50 to $14.50 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hope Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $12.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hope Bancorp

In related news, EVP Thomas Stenger sold 4,185 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.83, for a total transaction of $49,508.55. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,267 shares in the company, valued at $227,928.61. This represents a 17.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 5.29% of the company's stock.

Hope Bancorp Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of HOPE stock traded down $0.06 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $9.38. The company had a trading volume of 79,963 shares, compared to its average volume of 788,171. The company has a 50 day moving average of $10.46 and a 200 day moving average of $11.91. Hope Bancorp, Inc. has a 1-year low of $8.83 and a 1-year high of $14.54. The firm has a market cap of $1.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.44 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.03. Hope Bancorp had a return on equity of 4.84% and a net margin of 9.95%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Hope Bancorp, Inc. will post 1.09 EPS for the current year.

Hope Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 6th were issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.97%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 6th. Hope Bancorp's payout ratio is presently 68.29%.

Hope Bancorp 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.