Short Interest in Hanmi Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HAFC) Grows By 53.8%

Hanmi Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HAFC) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 662,900 shares, an increase of 53.8% from the October 31st total of 431,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 197,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.3 days. Approximately 2.2% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hanmi Financial

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Hanmi Financial in the third quarter worth $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Hanmi Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $49,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Hanmi Financial by 47.0% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 3,773 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 1,207 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Hanmi Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $168,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in Hanmi Financial by 8.5% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 11,568 shares of the bank’s stock worth $193,000 after acquiring an additional 911 shares in the last quarter. 88.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on HAFC shares. DA Davidson increased their target price on Hanmi Financial from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded Hanmi Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Hanmi Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $20.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $21.00 price target on shares of Hanmi Financial in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler raised Hanmi Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $20.00 to $25.50 in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hanmi Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.63.

Hanmi Financial Stock Performance

Hanmi Financial stock traded down $0.30 on Friday, reaching $26.45. 111,308 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 192,647. Hanmi Financial has a twelve month low of $14.45 and a twelve month high of $27.59. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $22.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock has a market cap of $798.79 million, a PE ratio of 12.72 and a beta of 0.84.

Hanmi Financial (NASDAQ:HAFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The bank reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49. The business had revenue of $108.86 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.23 million. Hanmi Financial had a net margin of 14.80% and a return on equity of 8.87%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.62 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Hanmi Financial will post 2 EPS for the current year.

Hanmi Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.78%. Hanmi Financial’s payout ratio is presently 48.08%.

About Hanmi Financial

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.