Hanmi Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HAFC) Short Interest Update

Hanmi Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HAFC) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 722,010 shares, an increase of 58.6% from the November 30th total of 455,321 shares. Approximately 2.4% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 271,742 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.7 days. Based on an average daily volume of 271,742 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.7 days. Approximately 2.4% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on HAFC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Hanmi Financial from $29.00 to $30.50 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Hanmi Financial in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised Hanmi Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 6th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Hanmi Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $28.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hanmi Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HAFC. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in Hanmi Financial by 14.5% during the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 13,520 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $306,000 after purchasing an additional 1,709 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC raised its stake in shares of Hanmi Financial by 24.7% in the first quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 10,130 shares of the bank’s stock worth $230,000 after purchasing an additional 2,009 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hanmi Financial by 24.4% during the first quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 25,192 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $571,000 after purchasing an additional 4,942 shares in the last quarter. Walleye Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hanmi Financial during the first quarter valued at $323,000. Finally, Quarry LP increased its holdings in Hanmi Financial by 114.3% in the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,830 shares of the bank’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 976 shares in the last quarter. 88.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hanmi Financial Stock Down 1.2%

Hanmi Financial stock traded down $0.35 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $27.75. The company had a trading volume of 156,470 shares, compared to its average volume of 340,834. Hanmi Financial has a 12 month low of $19.25 and a 12 month high of $29.46. The company has a market capitalization of $831.11 million, a PE ratio of 11.61 and a beta of 0.75. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $27.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Hanmi Financial (NASDAQ:HAFC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The bank reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $70.96 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $67.80 million. Hanmi Financial had a return on equity of 9.59% and a net margin of 16.53%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Hanmi Financial will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hanmi Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 4th were paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 4th. Hanmi Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.19%.

Hanmi Financial Company Profile

Hanmi Financial Corporation is a bank holding company based in California, primarily operating through its wholly owned subsidiary, Hanmi Bank. Established in 1982 to serve the Korean‐American community in Los Angeles, the company has expanded its footprint to include branch locations throughout California as well as markets in Illinois, Texas and Washington State. Hanmi Bank offers a comprehensive suite of commercial and consumer banking products designed to meet the needs of small and medium‐sized businesses, professionals and individual clients.

On the commercial banking side, Hanmi Bank provides business checking and savings accounts, lines of credit, commercial real estate lending and SBA‐guaranteed loans.