Fifth Third Bancorp Raises Stock Holdings in Hope Bancorp, Inc. $HOPE

Key Points

• Fifth Third Bancorp sharply increased its stake in Hope Bancorp, boosting holdings by 9,776.2% to 143,303 shares, worth about $1.6 million at the end of the quarter.
• Hope Bancorp reported Q1 earnings of $0.23 per share, slightly ahead of analyst estimates, though revenue of $133.82 million came in below expectations. Revenue still rose 21% from a year earlier.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but improving, with the stock carrying a Hold consensus and an average price target of $14.50; several firms recently raised targets or upgraded the shares.

Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in shares of Hope Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOPE - Free Report) by 9,776.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 143,303 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 141,852 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp owned about 0.11% of Hope Bancorp worth $1,601,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Hope Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Hope Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Hope Bancorp by 294.0% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,428 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 2,558 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in Hope Bancorp by 375.1% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 3,625 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 2,862 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Hope Bancorp by 157.1% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,026 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 3,071 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.00% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hope Bancorp

In other Hope Bancorp news, Director Daisy Y. Ha sold 12,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.53, for a total value of $150,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 373,115 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,675,130.95. The trade was a 3.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.27% of the company's stock.

Hope Bancorp Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of HOPE stock opened at $13.44 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $13.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.72 billion, a PE ratio of 25.85 and a beta of 0.83. Hope Bancorp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $9.44 and a 52-week high of $14.05.

Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $133.82 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $145.30 million. Hope Bancorp had a return on equity of 5.32% and a net margin of 6.56%.The firm's revenue was up 21.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.17 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Hope Bancorp, Inc. will post 1.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings raised Hope Bancorp from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Hope Bancorp from $14.50 to $15.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Hope Bancorp from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Zacks Research upgraded Hope Bancorp from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Brean Capital raised Hope Bancorp from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $14.50.

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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