Short Interest in Hanmi Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HAFC) Drops By 7.4%

Hanmi Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HAFC) saw a significant decrease in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,000,000 shares, a decrease of 7.4% from the March 31st total of 1,080,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 300,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.3 days. Approximately 3.4% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hanmi Financial

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HAFC. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Hanmi Financial by 151.2% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 443,539 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,061,000 after buying an additional 266,949 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in Hanmi Financial by 2,264.9% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 238,448 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,671,000 after purchasing an additional 228,365 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Hanmi Financial by 59.9% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 388,875 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,311,000 after purchasing an additional 145,703 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Hanmi Financial by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 358,918 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,825,000 after purchasing an additional 35,104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP lifted its stake in Hanmi Financial by 148.3% in the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 53,050 shares of the bank’s stock worth $861,000 after purchasing an additional 31,682 shares in the last quarter. 88.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hanmi Financial Trading Down 1.7 %

HAFC stock opened at $15.30 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Hanmi Financial has a 12-month low of $13.35 and a 12-month high of $20.31. The stock has a market cap of $463.28 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.38 and a beta of 0.95. The business’s 50-day moving average is $15.24 and its 200 day moving average is $16.43.

Hanmi Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.54%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 3rd. Hanmi Financial’s payout ratio is 41.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $17.00 target price on shares of Hanmi Financial in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $18.00 target price (down from $18.50) on shares of Hanmi Financial in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th.

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.