Hanmi Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HAFC) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Hanmi Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HAFC) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 452,900 shares, an increase of 27.0% from the February 28th total of 356,700 shares. Currently, 1.5% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 202,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.2 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hanmi Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Hanmi Financial by 227.1% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,076 shares of the bank’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 747 shares in the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in Hanmi Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Hanmi Financial during the 4th quarter worth $43,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Hanmi Financial by 110.7% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,970 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 1,035 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its stake in Hanmi Financial by 5,858.5% in the fourth quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 2,443 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 2,402 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on HAFC. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $27.50 target price on shares of Hanmi Financial in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $29.00 price objective (up previously from $24.00) on shares of Hanmi Financial in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $25.75.

Hanmi Financial Stock Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ:HAFC traded up $0.08 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $22.62. The company had a trading volume of 185,746 shares, compared to its average volume of 201,091. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $23.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Hanmi Financial has a 12-month low of $14.45 and a 12-month high of $27.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $683.03 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.03 and a beta of 0.87.

Hanmi Financial (NASDAQ:HAFC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. Hanmi Financial had a net margin of 14.45% and a return on equity of 8.64%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Hanmi Financial will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hanmi Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is a boost from Hanmi Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Hanmi Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.68%.

Hanmi Financial Company Profile

Hanmi Financial Corporation operates as the holding company for Hanmi Bank that provides business banking products and services in the United States. It offers various deposit products, including noninterest-bearing checking accounts, savings accounts, negotiable order of withdrawal accounts, money market accounts, and certificates of deposit.