Victory Capital Management Inc. Buys 51,970 Shares of Hope Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOPE)

Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Hope Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOPE) by 31.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 218,579 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 51,970 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 0.18% of Hope Bancorp worth $2,686,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hope Bancorp by 181.9% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,407 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 1,553 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in Hope Bancorp by 31.2% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 3,563 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 848 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in Hope Bancorp in the third quarter valued at approximately $58,000. KBC Group NV increased its stake in Hope Bancorp by 36.6% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,093 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 1,901 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its stake in Hope Bancorp by 8.5% in the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 11,729 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $147,000 after acquiring an additional 919 shares during the last quarter. 84.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Thomas Stenger sold 4,185 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.83, for a total value of $49,508.55. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,267 shares in the company, valued at $227,928.61. This represents a 17.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 5.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on HOPE. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on shares of Hope Bancorp from $15.50 to $14.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com raised shares of Hope Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Hope Bancorp from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Hope Bancorp has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $12.88.

Hope Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of Hope Bancorp stock opened at $10.49 on Monday. Hope Bancorp, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $9.80 and a fifty-two week high of $14.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.79 and a beta of 1.15. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $11.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.33.

Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by $0.03. Hope Bancorp had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 4.84%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Hope Bancorp, Inc. will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hope Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 6th were given a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 6th. Hope Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.29%.

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.