Hanmi Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HAFC) Short Interest Up 27.0% in March

Hanmi Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HAFC) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during 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. Based on an average trading volume of 202,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.2 days. Approximately 1.5% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hanmi Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HAFC. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hanmi Financial by 227.1% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,076 shares of the bank’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 747 shares during the period. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in Hanmi Financial during the third quarter worth about $28,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Hanmi Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 1,035 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 2,402 shares during the period. 88.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on HAFC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $29.00 price objective (up previously from $24.00) on shares of Hanmi Financial in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $27.50 price target on shares of Hanmi Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hanmi Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $25.75.

Hanmi Financial Trading Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ HAFC opened at $22.62 on Thursday. Hanmi Financial has a one year low of $14.45 and a one year high of $27.59. The firm has a market cap of $683.03 million, a PE ratio of 11.03 and a beta of 0.87. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $23.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Hanmi Financial (NASDAQ:HAFC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts expect that Hanmi Financial will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Hanmi Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.77%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This is a boost from Hanmi Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Hanmi Financial’s dividend payout ratio 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.