Prudential Financial Inc. Sells 68,018 Shares of Hope Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOPE)

Prudential Financial Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Hope Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOPE - Free Report) by 19.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 276,787 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 68,018 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned about 0.23% of Hope Bancorp worth $3,402,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hope Bancorp by 181.9% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,407 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 1,553 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its stake in shares of Hope Bancorp by 31.2% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 3,563 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 848 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Hope Bancorp in the third quarter worth approximately $58,000. KBC Group NV grew its position in Hope Bancorp by 36.6% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,093 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 1,901 shares during the period. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp purchased a new stake in Hope Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $133,000. 84.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hope Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ HOPE traded down $0.28 during trading on Friday, hitting $9.36. 2,309,129 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 764,727. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Hope Bancorp, Inc. has a 12-month low of $9.04 and a 12-month high of $14.54. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $10.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $12.11. The company has a market capitalization of $1.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.41 and a beta of 0.96.

Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.17 by $0.03. Hope Bancorp had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 4.84%. As a group, analysts predict that Hope Bancorp, Inc. will post 1.09 EPS for the current year.

Hope Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 6th were given a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 6th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.98%. Hope Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is presently 68.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on HOPE. Piper Sandler lowered their target price 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 cut their price objective on Hope Bancorp from $15.50 to $14.50 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $12.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hope Bancorp news, EVP Thomas Stenger sold 4,185 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,267 shares in the company, valued at $227,928.61. The trade was a 17.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 5.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.