Guild Holdings (NYSE:GHLD) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Guild Holdings (NYSE:GHLD) was the target of a large increase in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 17,900 shares, an increase of 842.1% from the December 15th total of 1,900 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 12,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.4 days. Currently, 0.2% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on GHLD shares. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $20.00 target price on shares of Guild in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Guild from $17.00 to $15.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Guild from $13.00 to $11.50 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $16.20.

Guild Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GHLD traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $12.79. The company had a trading volume of 43,915 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,464. The stock has a market cap of $791.52 million, a P/E ratio of -8.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 1.00. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $13.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $14.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Guild has a 52-week low of $11.21 and a 52-week high of $18.25.

Institutional Trading of Guild

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Castleview Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Guild during the 3rd quarter worth $79,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Guild by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 27,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $410,000 after buying an additional 2,100 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Guild by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 98,244 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,634,000 after buying an additional 1,901 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Guild by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 269,881 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,488,000 after buying an additional 13,668 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. lifted its position in shares of Guild by 11.9% during the third quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 653,957 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,875,000 after acquiring an additional 69,603 shares in the last quarter. 17.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Guild Company Profile

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.