Short Interest in Guild Holdings (NYSE:GHLD) Expands By 842.1%

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

Institutional Trading of Guild

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in GHLD. Castleview Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Guild during the 3rd quarter worth about $79,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in Guild by 8.2% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 27,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $410,000 after purchasing an additional 2,100 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Guild by 2.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 98,244 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,634,000 after purchasing an additional 1,901 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Guild by 5.3% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 269,881 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,488,000 after purchasing an additional 13,668 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. raised its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 69,603 shares in the last quarter. 17.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Guild Stock Up 2.1 %

GHLD traded up $0.27 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $12.72. 3,758 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,715. 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 12-month low of $11.21 and a 12-month high of $18.25. The firm has a market cap of $786.93 million, a P/E ratio of -8.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $13.47 and a 200 day moving average of $14.73.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on GHLD shares. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $20.00 target price on shares of Guild in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Compass Point boosted their price target on Guild from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Guild from $17.00 to $15.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Guild from $13.00 to $11.50 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $16.67.

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.