loanDepot, Inc. (NYSE:LDI) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

loanDepot, Inc. (NYSE:LDI) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,610,000 shares, a growth of 8.8% from the August 15th total of 2,400,000 shares. Currently, 4.0% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 619,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.2 days.

loanDepot Stock Down 5.8 %

Shares of LDI traded down $0.19 on Wednesday, hitting $3.01. 1,658,382 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 541,821. The company has a market capitalization of $972.39 million, a PE ratio of -5.26 and a beta of 3.43. loanDepot has a one year low of $1.14 and a one year high of $3.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.69, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.18. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $2.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $2.24.

loanDepot (NYSE:LDI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.07) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $265.39 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $267.66 million. loanDepot had a negative return on equity of 18.22% and a negative net margin of 11.22%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that loanDepot will post -0.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LDI has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group upped their price target on loanDepot from $2.30 to $2.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of loanDepot in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on loanDepot from $1.50 to $1.70 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th.

Insider Activity at loanDepot

In other loanDepot news, Director Anthony Li Hsieh sold 268,689 shares of loanDepot stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.88, for a total transaction of $773,824.32. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,510,957 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,111,556.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Anthony Li Hsieh sold 268,689 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.88, for a total value of $773,824.32. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,510,957 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,111,556.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jeff Alexander Walsh sold 50,000 shares of loanDepot stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.85, for a total transaction of $142,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,122,128 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,748,064.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,198,059 shares of company stock worth $5,945,740 over the last 90 days. 83.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On loanDepot

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LDI. CastleKnight Management LP bought a new position in shares of loanDepot in the fourth quarter worth about $1,644,000. G2 Investment Partners Management LLC bought a new position in loanDepot in the 4th quarter worth approximately $792,000. DC Investments Management LLC purchased a new stake in loanDepot during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $559,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of loanDepot by 390.6% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 198,724 shares of the company’s stock valued at $328,000 after buying an additional 158,221 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 272 Capital LP lifted its holdings in shares of loanDepot by 107.4% in the second quarter. 272 Capital LP now owns 183,190 shares of the company’s stock worth $302,000 after buying an additional 94,883 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 39.39% of the company’s stock.

About loanDepot

loanDepot, Inc engages in originating, financing, selling, and servicing residential mortgage loans in the United States. The company offers conventional agency-conforming and prime jumbo, federal assistance residential mortgage, and home equity loans. It also provides settlement services, which include captive title and escrow business; real estate services that cover captive real estate referral business; and insurance services, including services to homeowners, as well as other consumer insurance policies.