Hanmi Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HAFC) Short Interest Up 53.8% in November

Hanmi Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HAFC) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in 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 trading volume of 197,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.3 days. Currently, 2.2% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Hanmi Financial Stock Performance

HAFC stock traded down $0.30 on Friday, hitting $26.45. The company had a trading volume of 111,308 shares, compared to its average volume of 192,647. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Hanmi Financial has a 12-month low of $14.45 and a 12-month high of $27.59. The stock has a market cap of $798.79 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.72 and a beta of 0.84. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $22.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.29.

Hanmi Financial (NASDAQ:HAFC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The bank reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.49. The firm had revenue of $108.86 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 firm earned $0.62 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Hanmi Financial will post 2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hanmi Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Trading of Hanmi Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HAFC. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hanmi Financial by 2.6% in the 1st 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 grew its holdings in Hanmi Financial by 32.2% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,072,772 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $17,937,000 after purchasing an additional 261,545 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in Hanmi Financial by 26.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 879,979 shares of the bank’s stock worth $16,368,000 after buying an additional 182,164 shares in the last quarter. 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 worth $9,667,000 after buying an additional 82,087 shares during the period. Finally, Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. raised its stake in shares of Hanmi Financial by 20.6% in the third quarter. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. now owns 571,053 shares of the bank’s stock worth $10,622,000 after buying an additional 97,500 shares during the period. 88.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hanmi Financial Company Profile

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.