Guild (NYSE:GHLD) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume Following Analyst Upgrade

Guild Holdings (NYSE:GHLD) saw an uptick in trading volume on Friday after JMP Securities raised their price target on the stock from $14.00 to $16.50. JMP Securities currently has a market outperform rating on the stock. 7,765 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 21% from the previous session’s volume of 9,836 shares.The stock last traded at $15.40 and had previously closed at $15.55.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on GHLD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Guild from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $14.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $17.00 price objective on shares of Guild in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Guild from $12.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Guild presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $16.10.

Insider Buying and Selling at Guild

In other news, Director Edward Bryant, Jr. sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.01, for a total value of $84,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 26,816 shares in the company, valued at approximately $375,692.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Mary Ann Mcgarry acquired 4,998 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $16.12 per share, for a total transaction of $80,567.76. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 372,996 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,012,695.52. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Edward Bryant, Jr. sold 6,000 shares of Guild stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.01, for a total value of $84,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 26,816 shares in the company, valued at approximately $375,692.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 13,370 shares of company stock valued at $214,346 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 77.98% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GHLD. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Guild in the first quarter valued at approximately $149,000. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. boosted its position in shares of Guild by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 440,878 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,503,000 after purchasing an additional 9,126 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Guild by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 237,853 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,508,000 after buying an additional 17,992 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its position in Guild by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,173,520 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,874,000 after buying an additional 26,510 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Guild in the third quarter valued at about $358,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 17.52% of the company’s stock.

Guild Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $907.89 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.24, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.08 and a quick ratio of 0.08. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $14.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $14.31.

Guild (NYSE:GHLD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The company reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $231.78 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $173.77 million. Guild had a return on equity of 4.25% and a net margin of 3.41%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.04) earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Guild Holdings will post 1.21 EPS for the current year.

Guild Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 17th. Guild’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 238.10%.

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.