loanDepot, Inc. (NYSE:LDI) Short Interest Update

loanDepot, Inc. (NYSE:LDI) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,360,000 shares, an increase of 9.3% from the June 30th total of 2,160,000 shares. Approximately 3.7% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 421,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.6 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on LDI. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on loanDepot from $2.25 to $1.50 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of loanDepot in a research report on Friday, June 21st.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Frank Martell purchased 36,639 shares of loanDepot stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $1.77 per share, for a total transaction of $64,851.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 595,248 shares in the company, valued at $1,053,588.96. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Anthony Li Hsieh sold 38,504 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.03, for a total transaction of $78,163.12. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,255,623 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,608,914.69. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Frank Martell acquired 36,639 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $1.77 per share, with a total value of $64,851.03. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 595,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,053,588.96. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 677,520 shares of company stock valued at $1,358,805 in the last quarter. 83.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On loanDepot

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. CastleKnight Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of loanDepot during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,644,000. Wolverine Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of loanDepot by 58.8% in the fourth quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 1,071,927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,773,000 after buying an additional 397,095 shares during the last quarter. G2 Investment Partners Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of loanDepot in the fourth quarter valued at about $792,000. DC Investments Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of loanDepot in the first quarter worth about $559,000. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC boosted its position in loanDepot by 66.3% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 113,354 shares of the company’s stock worth $294,000 after acquiring an additional 45,173 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 39.39% of the company’s stock.

loanDepot Price Performance

LDI traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $1.96. 210,640 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 438,302. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $1.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $2.28. loanDepot has a 52-week low of $1.14 and a 52-week high of $3.71. The company has a market capitalization of $634.24 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.44 and a beta of 3.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.80.

loanDepot (NYSE:LDI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.23) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by ($0.15). loanDepot had a negative return on equity of 19.52% and a negative net margin of 10.26%. The company had revenue of $222.79 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $232.65 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that loanDepot will post -0.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About loanDepot

loanDepot, Inc engages in originating, financing, selling, and servicing residential mortgage loans in the United States. The company offers conventional agency-conforming and prime jumbo, federal assistance residential mortgage, and home equity loans. It also provides settlement services, which include captive title and escrow business; real estate services that cover captive real estate referral business; and insurance services, including services to homeowners, as well as other consumer insurance policies.