Walleye Capital LLC Makes New Investment in Hope Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOPE)

Walleye Capital LLC acquired a new position in Hope Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOPE - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 55,500 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $697,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HOPE. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hope Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $48,000. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in Hope Bancorp by 149.5% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 5,279 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 3,163 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Hope Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth $58,000. Choreo LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hope Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at $108,000. Finally, AE Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hope Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at $112,000. 84.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com raised Hope Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday.

Hope Bancorp Trading Down 0.2 %

NASDAQ:HOPE traded down $0.03 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $13.45. The stock had a trading volume of 331,055 shares, compared to its average volume of 604,378. Hope Bancorp, Inc. has a one year low of $9.80 and a one year high of $14.53. The company has a market cap of $1.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.01 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96. The business's 50 day moving average is $13.09 and its 200-day moving average is $12.13.

Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.22 by ($0.01). Hope Bancorp had a return on equity of 5.52% and a net margin of 9.81%. The business had revenue of $246.92 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $121.67 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.25 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Hope Bancorp, Inc. will post 0.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hope Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th were given a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.16%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. Hope Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is presently 66.67%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Daisy Y. Ha sold 27,104 shares of Hope Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.83, for a total value of $374,848.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 446,806 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,179,326.98. This trade represents a 5.72 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Steven Koh sold 96,620 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.33, for a total transaction of $1,287,944.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,167,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,216,416.59. The trade was a 2.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 129,224 shares of company stock worth $1,737,873 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 5.29% of the company's stock.

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.