Guild Holdings (NYSE:GHLD) Short Interest Update

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

Institutional Trading of Guild

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GHLD. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Guild by 18.6% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 15,441 shares of the company’s stock worth $218,000 after buying an additional 2,421 shares during the last quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC lifted its position in Guild by 57.5% in the fourth quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 16,799 shares of the company’s stock worth $237,000 after buying an additional 6,134 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Guild by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 22,421 shares of the company’s stock worth $316,000 after buying an additional 1,709 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Guild by 2.0% in the third 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 during the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in Guild by 419.9% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. 17.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of 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 price objective on shares of Guild from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $16.60.

Guild Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GHLD traded up $0.65 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $14.08. 14,743 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,593. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.06 and a quick ratio of 0.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $871.55 million, a PE ratio of -9.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 0.98. Guild has a one year low of $11.21 and a one year high of $18.26. The company’s 50 day moving average is $12.73 and its 200 day moving average is $14.10.

Guild Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 yield of 14.21%. Guild’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.94%.

Guild Company Profile

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.