Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Makes New Investment in Hope Bancorp, Inc. $HOPE

Key Points

• Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new position in Hope Bancorp, purchasing 220,803 shares valued at approximately $2.31 million, resulting in ownership of 0.18% of the company.
• Hope Bancorp recently reported earnings of ($0.22) per share, missing analysts' estimates, with a revenue of $94.58 million compared to expected revenue of $133.90 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.14 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $0.56 and a yield of 5.1%, despite a high dividend payout ratio of 160.00%.

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. bought a new stake in Hope Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOPE - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 220,803 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,312,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned 0.18% of Hope Bancorp at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Hope Bancorp by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 480,419 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,030,000 after purchasing an additional 7,358 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in Hope Bancorp by 91.5% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 32,828 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $344,000 after purchasing an additional 15,687 shares in the last quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. lifted its holdings in Hope Bancorp by 35.0% in the 1st quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 17,506 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $183,000 after purchasing an additional 4,543 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Hope Bancorp by 89.1% in the 1st quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 57,166 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $599,000 after purchasing an additional 26,943 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Hope Bancorp by 16.8% in the first quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 44,652 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $468,000 after acquiring an additional 6,432 shares during the last quarter. 84.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Zacks Research lowered shares of Hope Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $13.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hope Bancorp news, EVP Angelee Harris sold 3,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.02, for a total value of $38,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 24,241 shares of the company's stock, valued at $267,135.82. The trade was a 12.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 7,102 shares of company stock valued at $76,068 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 5.16% of the company's stock.

Hope Bancorp Price Performance

HOPE stock traded down $0.13 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $10.75. The company had a trading volume of 643,320 shares, compared to its average volume of 574,299. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.71 and a beta of 0.97. The business has a 50 day moving average of $10.77 and a 200 day moving average of $10.42. Hope Bancorp, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $8.82 and a fifty-two week high of $14.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported ($0.22) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.21 by ($0.43). Hope Bancorp had a net margin of 4.27% and a return on equity of 4.45%. The business had revenue of $94.58 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $133.90 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.22 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Hope Bancorp, Inc. will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Hope Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st were issued a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.2%. Hope Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 160.00%.

About Hope Bancorp

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.