Guild Holdings (NYSE:GHLD) Short Interest Up 842.1% in January

Guild Holdings (NYSE:GHLD) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 17,900 shares, a growth of 842.1% from the December 31st total of 1,900 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 12,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.4 days. Currently, 0.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on GHLD shares. Compass Point raised their price objective on Guild from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $20.00 price objective on shares of Guild in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Guild from $13.00 to $11.50 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Guild from $17.00 to $15.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $16.67.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Guild by 2.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 98,244 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,634,000 after purchasing an additional 1,901 shares during the period. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. grew its holdings in shares of Guild by 11.9% during the 3rd quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 653,957 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,875,000 after purchasing an additional 69,603 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Guild by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 269,881 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,488,000 after purchasing an additional 13,668 shares during the last quarter. Castleview Partners LLC acquired a new position in Guild in the third quarter valued at about $79,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in Guild by 8.2% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 27,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $410,000 after buying an additional 2,100 shares during the period. 17.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Guild Stock Performance

Guild stock opened at $12.49 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $13.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $14.72. The stock has a market cap of $772.70 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.06 and a quick ratio of 0.06. Guild has a 1-year low of $11.21 and a 1-year high of $18.25.

About Guild

Guild Holdings Company originates, sells, and services residential mortgage loans in the United States. It operates in two segments, Origination and Servicing. The company offers residential mortgages through retail and correspondent channels. Guild Holdings Company was incorporated in 1960 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.