Guild Holdings (NYSE:GHLD) Short Interest Update

Guild Holdings (NYSE:GHLD) saw a large decrease in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 11,200 shares, a decrease of 21.7% from the February 13th total of 14,300 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 8,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.3 days. Currently, 0.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on GHLD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Guild from $11.50 to $12.50 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Compass Point increased their target price on Guild from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $16.60.

Guild Price Performance

GHLD stock traded up $0.65 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $13.51. The company had a trading volume of 10,521 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,577. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $12.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.10. Guild has a 12-month low of $11.21 and a 12-month high of $18.26. The company has a market capitalization of $836.32 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.72, a P/E/G ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Guild Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 14.80%. Guild’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.94%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Guild

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GHLD. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Guild by 18.6% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 15,441 shares of the company’s stock worth $218,000 after acquiring an additional 2,421 shares in the last quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC raised its stake in Guild by 57.5% during the fourth quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 16,799 shares of the company’s stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 6,134 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Guild by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 22,421 shares of the company’s stock valued at $316,000 after purchasing an additional 1,709 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Guild by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 98,244 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,634,000 after buying an additional 1,901 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Guild by 419.9% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 125,311 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,768,000 after buying an additional 101,209 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 17.52% of the company’s stock.

About Guild

Guild Holdings Company originates, sells, and services residential mortgage loans in the United States. It operates in two segments, Origination and Servicing. The company offers residential mortgages through retail and correspondent channels. Guild Holdings Company was incorporated in 1960 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.