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

loanDepot, Inc. (NYSE:LDI) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,610,000 shares, an increase of 8.8% from the August 15th total of 2,400,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 619,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.2 days. Currently, 4.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Insider Activity at loanDepot

In other loanDepot news, Director Anthony Li Hsieh sold 10,141 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.57, for a total value of $26,062.37. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,865,727 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,794,918.39. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other loanDepot news, insider Jeff Alexander Walsh sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.85, for a total value of $142,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,122,128 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,748,064.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Anthony Li Hsieh sold 10,141 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.57, for a total transaction of $26,062.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,865,727 shares in the company, valued at $4,794,918.39. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 2,198,059 shares of company stock valued at $5,945,740. Insiders own 83.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On loanDepot

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LDI. Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of loanDepot during the fourth quarter valued at about $81,000. CastleKnight Management LP bought a new stake in shares of loanDepot during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,644,000. Cullen Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of loanDepot during the fourth quarter valued at about $150,000. G2 Investment Partners Management LLC acquired a new position in loanDepot during the fourth quarter worth about $792,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in loanDepot by 8.2% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 205,910 shares of the company’s stock worth $533,000 after acquiring an additional 15,565 shares during the period. 39.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on LDI. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of loanDepot from $1.50 to $1.70 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of loanDepot from $2.30 to $2.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of loanDepot in a research report on Friday, June 21st.

loanDepot Stock Down 4.7 %

Shares of LDI stock traded down $0.15 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $3.04. 533,975 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 535,525. loanDepot has a fifty-two week low of $1.14 and a fifty-two week high of $3.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.69, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.18. The company has a market capitalization of $983.71 million, a P/E ratio of -5.30 and a beta of 3.43. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $2.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $2.24.

loanDepot (NYSE:LDI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.07) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.10) by $0.03. The business had revenue of $265.39 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $267.66 million. loanDepot had a negative net margin of 11.22% and a negative return on equity of 18.22%. Research analysts predict that loanDepot will post -0.31 earnings per share for the current 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.