Short Interest in Hanmi Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HAFC) Drops By 19.8%

Hanmi Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HAFC) saw a significant drop in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 578,832 shares, a drop of 19.8% from the December 15th total of 722,010 shares. Approximately 2.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 423,849 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.4 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 423,849 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.4 days. Approximately 2.0% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in Hanmi Financial during the third quarter worth $7,191,000. Rhino Investment Partners Inc boosted its stake in shares of Hanmi Financial by 27.1% during the 3rd quarter. Rhino Investment Partners Inc now owns 785,756 shares of the bank’s stock worth $19,400,000 after acquiring an additional 167,485 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Hanmi Financial by 240.8% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 117,241 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,895,000 after acquiring an additional 82,835 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hanmi Financial by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 932,896 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $23,033,000 after acquiring an additional 60,876 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in Hanmi Financial by 85.6% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 117,892 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,911,000 after purchasing an additional 54,386 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.66% of the company’s stock.

Hanmi Financial Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:HAFC traded down $0.22 during trading on Monday, reaching $28.64. 212,614 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 253,522. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Hanmi Financial has a 1-year low of $19.25 and a 1-year high of $29.46. The firm has a market cap of $857.77 million, a P/E ratio of 11.98 and a beta of 0.72.

Hanmi Financial (NASDAQ:HAFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Hanmi Financial had a return on equity of 9.59% and a net margin of 16.53%.The business had revenue of $70.96 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $67.80 million. Analysts anticipate that Hanmi Financial will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hanmi Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 4th were paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 4th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. Hanmi Financial’s payout ratio is 45.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on HAFC shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Hanmi Financial in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Hanmi Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 26th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Hanmi Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Hanmi Financial from $29.00 to $30.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $28.50.

About Hanmi Financial

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.