Hope Bancorp, Inc. $HOPE Shares Sold by Rafferty Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC has reduced its stake in Hope Bancorp by 24.8%, now owning 0.09% of the company worth $1.086 million after selling 34,311 shares in the first quarter.
• Hope Bancorp reported a loss of ($0.22) EPS for its most recent quarter, falling short of analysts' expectations of $0.21, with a revenue of $94.58 million compared to projections of $133.90 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.14 per share, representing a 5.0% dividend yield with a high payout ratio of 160.00%.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Hope Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOPE - Free Report) by 24.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 103,766 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 34,311 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC owned about 0.09% of Hope Bancorp worth $1,086,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of HOPE. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Hope Bancorp by 43.4% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,201,937 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $64,934,000 after purchasing an additional 1,877,820 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Hope Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,451,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in Hope Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,945,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Hope Bancorp by 18.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,491,628 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $18,332,000 after purchasing an additional 234,191 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Hope Bancorp by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,749,086 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $28,783,000 after purchasing an additional 196,172 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.00% of the company's stock.

Hope Bancorp Stock Down 1.2%

NASDAQ:HOPE traded down $0.14 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $11.12. The stock had a trading volume of 533,578 shares, compared to its average volume of 686,638. Hope Bancorp, Inc. has a 1-year low of $8.82 and a 1-year 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. The company has a market cap of $1.43 billion, a PE ratio of 31.77 and a beta of 0.97. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $10.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $10.42.

Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE - Get Free Report) last released 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 return on equity of 4.45% and a net margin of 4.27%.The company had revenue of $94.58 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $133.90 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.22 EPS. 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 Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st were given a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.0%. Hope Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 160.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HOPE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Hope Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Hope Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $13.25.

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.