Short Interest in Hanmi Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HAFC) Grows By 27.0%

Hanmi Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HAFC) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of 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 company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 202,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.2 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Hanmi Financial by 227.1% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,076 shares of the bank’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 747 shares during the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Hanmi Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Hanmi Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Hanmi Financial by 110.7% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,970 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 1,035 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP raised its position in shares of Hanmi Financial by 5,858.5% during the 4th quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 2,443 shares of the bank’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 2,402 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. DA Davidson restated 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 issued a $29.00 target price (up from $24.00) on shares of Hanmi Financial in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hanmi Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.75.

Hanmi Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ:HAFC opened at $22.62 on Thursday. Hanmi Financial has a 52 week low of $14.45 and a 52 week high of $27.59. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The company has a market cap of $683.03 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.03 and a beta of 0.87.

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

Hanmi Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.27 dividend. This is a boost from Hanmi Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.77%. Hanmi Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.68%.

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.