Short Interest in Hanmi Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HAFC) Rises By 119.2%

Hanmi Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HAFC) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 941,270 shares, a growth of 119.2% from the February 12th total of 429,406 shares. Approximately 3.2% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 302,991 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.1 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 302,991 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.1 days. Approximately 3.2% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HAFC. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in Hanmi Financial by 8.1% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 16,441 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $372,000 after purchasing an additional 1,234 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Hanmi Financial by 4.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 17,892 shares of the bank’s stock worth $405,000 after purchasing an additional 780 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hanmi Financial by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 114,624 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,597,000 after buying an additional 5,920 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hanmi Financial by 26.8% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 85,708 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,942,000 after buying an additional 18,112 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC increased its position in shares of Hanmi Financial by 352.6% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 44,723 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,013,000 after buying an additional 34,841 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on HAFC shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Hanmi Financial in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Hanmi Financial from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered Hanmi Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 24th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $29.50 price objective on shares of Hanmi Financial in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Hanmi Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.33.

Hanmi Financial Stock Performance

HAFC stock opened at $25.39 on Friday. Hanmi Financial has a twelve month low of $19.25 and a twelve month high of $30.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a market cap of $758.91 million, a P/E ratio of 10.12 and a beta of 0.74. The business’s fifty day moving average is $27.21 and its 200-day moving average is $26.62.

Hanmi Financial (NASDAQ:HAFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The bank reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by ($0.01). Hanmi Financial had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 17.10%.The company had revenue of $71.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $71.40 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Hanmi Financial will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

Hanmi Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th were paid a $0.28 dividend. This is a boost from Hanmi Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.4%. Hanmi Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.62%.

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.