Hanmi Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HAFC) Short Interest Update

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hanmi Financial

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of HAFC. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hanmi Financial by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,255,191 shares of the bank’s stock worth $35,903,000 after buying an additional 58,097 shares in the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Hanmi Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $213,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Hanmi Financial by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 66,605 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,061,000 after acquiring an additional 3,328 shares during the period. Boston Partners acquired a new stake in shares of Hanmi Financial in the 1st quarter worth approximately $596,000. Finally, CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hanmi Financial by 192.0% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 16,991 shares of the bank’s stock worth $284,000 after acquiring an additional 11,173 shares during the period. 88.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hanmi Financial Stock Performance

HAFC traded down $0.30 on Friday, hitting $26.45. 111,308 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 230,032. The company has a 50 day moving average of $22.19 and a 200-day moving average of $19.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $798.68 million, a PE ratio of 12.72 and a beta of 0.84. Hanmi Financial has a 12-month low of $14.45 and a 12-month high of $27.59.

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

Hanmi Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.78%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. Hanmi Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.