Hanmi Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HAFC) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Hanmi Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HAFC) saw a large drop in short interest in 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. Based on an average trading volume of 423,849 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.4 days. Currently, 2.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Currently, 2.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 423,849 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.4 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on HAFC shares. Zacks Research downgraded Hanmi Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 26th. Wall Street Zen raised Hanmi Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, December 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Hanmi Financial in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.50.

Hanmi Financial Price Performance

Shares of HAFC traded down $0.40 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $28.24. The company had a trading volume of 63,147 shares, compared to its average volume of 231,213. The company has a market capitalization of $845.93 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.82 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.97. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.92. Hanmi Financial has a 1-year low of $19.25 and a 1-year high of $29.46.

Hanmi Financial (NASDAQ:HAFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 21st. The bank reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $70.96 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $67.80 million. Hanmi Financial had a net margin of 16.53% and a return on equity of 9.59%. Analysts expect that Hanmi Financial will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

Hanmi Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hanmi Financial

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HAFC. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hanmi Financial by 2.7% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 799,205 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $19,728,000 after acquiring an additional 21,157 shares in the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hanmi Financial by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 12,957 shares of the bank’s stock worth $320,000 after buying an additional 504 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Hanmi Financial in the 3rd quarter worth about $7,191,000. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System bought a new position in Hanmi Financial during the second quarter valued at about $216,000. Finally, Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in Hanmi Financial during the first quarter worth about $505,000. 88.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hanmi Financial Company Profile

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.