Hanmi Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HAFC) Short Interest Up 58.6% in December

Hanmi Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HAFC) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 722,010 shares, an increase of 58.6% from the November 30th total of 455,321 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 271,742 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.7 days. Currently, 2.4% of the company’s stock are short sold. Currently, 2.4% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 271,742 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.7 days.

Hanmi Financial Stock Down 0.6%

NASDAQ:HAFC traded down $0.16 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $27.36. The stock had a trading volume of 94,179 shares, compared to its average volume of 191,147. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The company has a market capitalization of $819.28 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.44 and a beta of 0.75. Hanmi Financial has a 1-year low of $19.25 and a 1-year high of $29.46. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.53.

Hanmi Financial (NASDAQ:HAFC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The bank reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $70.96 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $67.80 million. Hanmi Financial had a return on equity of 9.59% and a net margin of 16.53%. Equities analysts anticipate that Hanmi Financial will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

Hanmi Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 4th were issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 4th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Hanmi Financial’s payout ratio is 45.19%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hanmi Financial

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of HAFC. EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hanmi Financial in the 1st quarter worth about $258,000. Walleye Capital LLC bought a new position in Hanmi Financial in the 1st quarter worth about $323,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in shares of Hanmi Financial by 14.5% in the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 13,520 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $306,000 after purchasing an additional 1,709 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hanmi Financial by 2.7% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 799,205 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $19,728,000 after buying an additional 21,157 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pallas Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hanmi Financial by 4.0% during the second quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 12,957 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $320,000 after buying an additional 504 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on HAFC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Hanmi Financial from $29.00 to $30.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised Hanmi Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 6th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Hanmi Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Hanmi Financial in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.50.

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.