BlackRock Inc. Acquires Shares of 18,472,441 Hope Bancorp, Inc. $HOPE

Key Points

• BlackRock acquired 18.47 million shares of Hope Bancorp during the second quarter, valued at approximately $252.7 million and representing about 14.45% of the company. Institutional investors collectively own 84% of HOPE.
• Analyst sentiment is moderately bullish: the consensus rating is “Moderate Buy” with a $15.50 target price, while DA Davidson raised its target to $16 and Weiss Ratings upgraded the stock to “buy.”
• Hope Bancorp exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.27 in EPS versus $0.26 forecast and $147.82 million in revenue. The company also maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.14, equivalent to a 4.0% annualized yield.

BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Hope Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOPE - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 18,472,441 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $252,703,000. BlackRock Inc. owned about 14.45% of Hope Bancorp at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new position in Hope Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Hope Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Hope Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hope Bancorp by 294.0% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,428 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 2,558 shares during the period. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Hope Bancorp by 375.1% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 3,625 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 2,862 shares during the period. 84.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on HOPE. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Hope Bancorp from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Hope Bancorp from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Hope Bancorp from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $15.50.

Insider Transactions at Hope Bancorp

In related news, Director Daisy Y. Ha sold 26,995 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.24, for a total transaction of $384,408.80. Following the sale, the director directly owned 346,120 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,928,748.80. This represents a 7.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.27% of the company's stock.

Hope Bancorp Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of HOPE opened at $13.92 on Thursday. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $13.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $12.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.98. Hope Bancorp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $9.80 and a 1 year high of $14.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.78 billion, a PE ratio of 13.92 and a beta of 0.83.

Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $147.82 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $146.50 million. Hope Bancorp had a net margin of 12.53% and a return on equity of 5.71%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.22) earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Hope Bancorp, Inc. will post 1.13 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 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 6th were issued a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 6th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. Hope Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.00%.

About Hope Bancorp

Hope Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Hope Bank, a California-chartered financial institution serving small and middle-market businesses, professionals and affluent individuals. The company's principal activities include accepting a variety of deposit products—such as checking accounts, savings and money market accounts, and time deposits—and extending commercial credit facilities. With a focus on community banking, Hope Bancorp tailors its offerings to meet the needs of clients in diverse industries, including real estate, professional services and import/export trade.

In its lending business, Hope Bancorp provides commercial real estate loans, construction financing, working capital lines of credit and equipment financing.

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