Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 87,605 Shares of Hope Bancorp, Inc. $HOPE

Franklin Resources Inc. trimmed its position in Hope Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOPE) by 55.1% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 71,327 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 87,605 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Hope Bancorp were worth $765,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Hope Bancorp by 43.4% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,201,937 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $64,934,000 after purchasing an additional 1,877,820 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hope Bancorp by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,986,576 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,050,000 after buying an additional 68,620 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Hope Bancorp by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,749,086 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,783,000 after buying an additional 196,172 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Hope Bancorp by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,739,463 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,664,000 after buying an additional 48,394 shares during the period. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Hope Bancorp by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 1,144,748 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,986,000 after buying an additional 43,280 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.00% of the company’s stock.

Hope Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of Hope Bancorp stock opened at $10.93 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market cap of $1.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.03 and a beta of 0.89. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $10.58 and its 200-day moving average is $10.64. Hope Bancorp, Inc. has a one year low of $8.82 and a one year high of $13.67.

Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $142.03 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $138.87 million. Hope Bancorp had a net margin of 4.89% and a return on equity of 4.70%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.21 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Hope Bancorp, Inc. will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hope Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 7th were issued a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 7th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.1%. Hope Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 143.59%.

Insider Activity at Hope Bancorp

In related news, EVP Angelee Harris sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.02, for a total transaction of $38,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 24,241 shares in the company, valued at approximately $267,135.82. This represents a 12.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 7,202 shares of company stock valued at $77,048 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 5.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on HOPE. Zacks Research raised Hope Bancorp from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hope Bancorp in a report on Monday, December 1st. Wall Street Zen raised Hope Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $14.50 target price on shares of Hope Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.