Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Cuts Stock Holdings in Hope Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOPE)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund cut its position in shares of Hope Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOPE) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 65,422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,348 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Hope Bancorp were worth $804,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in shares of 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 worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 848 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Hope Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at about $58,000. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Hope Bancorp by 36.6% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,093 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 1,901 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its position in Hope Bancorp by 8.5% during the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 11,729 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $147,000 after purchasing an additional 919 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Paloma Partners Management Co acquired a new stake in Hope Bancorp in the third quarter valued at approximately $151,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Hope Bancorp

In other Hope Bancorp news, EVP Thomas Stenger sold 4,185 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.83, for a total transaction of $49,508.55. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $227,928.61. The trade was a 17.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 5.29% of the company’s stock.

Hope Bancorp Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of HOPE stock opened at $10.81 on Tuesday. 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 quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.97. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $11.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.18 and a beta of 1.15.

Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.03. Hope Bancorp had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 4.84%. Research analysts expect that Hope Bancorp, Inc. will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hope Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 6th were given a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 6th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.18%. Hope Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.