Short Interest in Hanmi Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HAFC) Decreases By 16.1%

Hanmi Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HAFC) saw a significant decline in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 596,800 shares, a decline of 16.1% from the August 15th total of 711,600 shares. Currently, 2.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 215,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.8 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on HAFC. Wedbush increased their price objective on shares of Hanmi Financial from $17.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Hanmi Financial from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hanmi Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hanmi Financial by 2.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,255,191 shares of the bank’s stock worth $35,903,000 after purchasing an additional 58,097 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Hanmi Financial by 32.2% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,072,772 shares of the bank’s stock worth $17,937,000 after buying an additional 261,545 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Hanmi Financial by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 906,395 shares of the bank’s stock worth $17,584,000 after acquiring an additional 4,756 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hanmi Financial by 16.5% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 578,155 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,667,000 after acquiring an additional 82,087 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Hanmi Financial by 71.8% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 482,698 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $8,070,000 after purchasing an additional 201,789 shares during the period. 88.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hanmi Financial Price Performance

Shares of HAFC stock traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $18.96. 55,192 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 236,903. The company has a market cap of $576.14 million, a PE ratio of 7.86 and a beta of 0.88. Hanmi Financial has a 52-week low of $13.87 and a 52-week high of $20.92. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $18.92 and a 200 day moving average of $16.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Hanmi Financial (NASDAQ:HAFC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48. Hanmi Financial had a return on equity of 9.66% and a net margin of 15.84%. The business had revenue of $106.72 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.07 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.67 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Hanmi Financial will post 1.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Hanmi Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 5th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.27%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. Hanmi Financial’s payout ratio is 41.67%.

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.