Hanmi Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HAFC) Short Interest Update

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

Hanmi Financial Trading Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ:HAFC traded down $0.09 on Tuesday, hitting $22.57. 34,026 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 200,871. 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 has a 52 week low of $14.45 and a 52 week high of $27.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $681.52 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.99 and a beta of 0.87. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $23.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.96.

Hanmi Financial (NASDAQ:HAFC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. Hanmi Financial had a net margin of 14.45% and a return on equity of 8.64%. On average, equities research analysts forecast 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 given a $0.27 dividend. This is a positive change from Hanmi Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Hanmi Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.68%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hanmi Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Hanmi Financial by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 8,527 shares of the bank’s stock worth $201,000 after buying an additional 527 shares during the last quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Hanmi Financial by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 56,990 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,346,000 after acquiring an additional 535 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in Hanmi Financial by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 17,112 shares of the bank’s stock worth $404,000 after acquiring an additional 547 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its holdings in Hanmi Financial by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 176,354 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,165,000 after purchasing an additional 677 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Hanmi Financial by 227.1% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,076 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 747 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

About Hanmi Financial

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.