Hanmi Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HAFC) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Hanmi Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HAFC) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 452,900 shares, an increase of 27.0% from the February 28th total of 356,700 shares. Approximately 1.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 202,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.2 days.

Hanmi Financial Trading Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ HAFC traded up $0.08 on Wednesday, reaching $22.62. 185,746 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 201,091. Hanmi Financial has a fifty-two week low of $14.45 and a fifty-two week high of $27.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $683.03 million, a P/E ratio of 11.03 and a beta of 0.87. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $23.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

Hanmi Financial (NASDAQ:HAFC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. Hanmi Financial had a net margin of 14.45% and a return on equity of 8.64%. Analysts forecast that Hanmi Financial will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Hanmi Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.77%. This is a positive change from Hanmi Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Hanmi Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HAFC has been the subject of several research reports. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $27.50 price target on shares of Hanmi Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $29.00 target price (up previously from $24.00) on shares of Hanmi Financial in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.75.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hanmi Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Hanmi Financial by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,776,133 shares of the bank’s stock worth $41,952,000 after purchasing an additional 31,634 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management lifted its position in Hanmi Financial by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,183,181 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $27,947,000 after buying an additional 47,700 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Hanmi Financial by 26.1% during 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 during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Hanmi Financial by 71.8% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 836,145 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $15,552,000 after acquiring an additional 349,339 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hanmi Financial by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 743,466 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $17,561,000 after acquiring an additional 85,425 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.66% of the company’s stock.

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.