Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Buys Shares of 180,429 Hanmi Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HAFC)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new stake in Hanmi Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HAFC) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 180,429 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $4,262,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P owned 0.60% of Hanmi Financial at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of HAFC. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Hanmi Financial by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 37,706 shares of the bank’s stock worth $701,000 after buying an additional 414 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Hanmi Financial by 227.1% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,076 shares of the bank’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 747 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Hanmi Financial by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 18,243 shares of the bank’s stock worth $431,000 after acquiring an additional 776 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Hanmi Financial by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 82,303 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,944,000 after acquiring an additional 877 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Hanmi Financial by 110.7% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,970 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 1,035 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.66% of the company’s stock.

Hanmi Financial Stock Down 1.2 %

Hanmi Financial stock opened at $22.58 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The company has a market capitalization of $681.83 million, a PE ratio of 11.01 and a beta of 0.87. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $23.32 and its 200 day moving average is $22.90. Hanmi Financial Co. has a 12-month low of $14.45 and a 12-month high of $27.59.

Hanmi Financial (NASDAQ:HAFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. Hanmi Financial had a net margin of 14.45% and a return on equity of 8.64%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Hanmi Financial Co. will post 2.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hanmi Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is an increase from Hanmi Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.78%. Hanmi Financial’s payout ratio is currently 52.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on HAFC. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $27.50 price target on shares of Hanmi Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $29.00 target price (up previously from $24.00) on shares of Hanmi Financial in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.75.

Hanmi Financial Company Profile

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.