Hanmi Financial (NASDAQ:HAFC) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Time to Buy?

Hanmi Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HAFC) saw unusually-high trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 168,323 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 8% from the previous session’s volume of 182,527 shares.The stock last traded at $28.8660 and had previously closed at $28.84.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Hanmi Financial Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $26.81 and a 200-day moving average of $25.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company has a market cap of $866.15 million, a P/E ratio of 12.08 and a beta of 0.75.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $70.96 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $67.80 million. Hanmi Financial had a net margin of 16.53% and a return on equity of 9.59%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Hanmi Financial Corporation will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

Hanmi Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 4th were issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 4th. Hanmi Financial’s payout ratio is currently 45.19%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Hanmi Financial in the third quarter worth about $7,191,000. Rhino Investment Partners Inc increased its stake in Hanmi Financial by 27.1% in 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 during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hanmi Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,925,000. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position 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. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hanmi Financial by 10.1% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 818,831 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $18,555,000 after acquiring an additional 75,365 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.66% of the company’s stock.

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.