Hanmi Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HAFC) Short Interest Up 8.0% in April

Hanmi Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HAFC - Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of April. As of April 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,080,000 shares, a growth of 8.0% from the April 15th total of 1,000,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 288,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.8 days. Approximately 3.6% of the company's stock are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HAFC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wedbush restated a "neutral" rating and issued 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 issued a $18.00 price objective (down from $18.50) on shares of Hanmi Financial in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th.

Hanmi Financial Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of Hanmi Financial stock traded up $0.08 on Thursday, hitting $16.61. 167,262 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 270,198. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm's 50-day moving average is $15.45 and its 200 day moving average is $16.51. The stock has a market cap of $504.78 million, a P/E ratio of 6.92 and a beta of 0.93. Hanmi Financial has a 52-week low of $13.78 and a 52-week high of $20.31.

Hanmi Financial (NASDAQ:HAFC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $58.39 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.83 million. Hanmi Financial had a return on equity of 10.70% and a net margin of 17.63%. Equities analysts anticipate that Hanmi Financial will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Hanmi Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 3rd. Hanmi Financial's payout ratio is currently 41.67%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HAFC. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Hanmi Financial by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 17,340 shares of the bank's stock worth $336,000 after acquiring an additional 821 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its holdings in shares of Hanmi Financial by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 28,605 shares of the bank's stock worth $464,000 after purchasing an additional 933 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hanmi Financial by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,833 shares of the bank's stock worth $230,000 after purchasing an additional 1,399 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank boosted its position in Hanmi Financial by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 67,200 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,091,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in Hanmi Financial during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.