loanDepot, Inc. (NYSE:LDI) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

loanDepot, Inc. (NYSE:LDI) was the target of a significant 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. Approximately 4.0% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling at loanDepot

In other loanDepot news, Director Anthony Li Hsieh sold 267,972 shares of loanDepot stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.74, for a total transaction of $734,243.28. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,242,985 shares in the company, valued at $8,885,778.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Jeff Alexander Walsh sold 50,000 shares of loanDepot stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.85, for a total value of $142,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 4,122,128 shares in the company, valued at $11,748,064.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Anthony Li Hsieh sold 267,972 shares of loanDepot stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.74, for a total transaction of $734,243.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,242,985 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,885,778.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,198,059 shares of company stock worth $5,945,740 over the last three months. Insiders own 83.04% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On loanDepot

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LDI. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new stake in loanDepot in the 4th quarter valued at about $81,000. Cullen Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in loanDepot in the 4th quarter valued at about $150,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in loanDepot by 27.3% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 91,701 shares of the company’s stock valued at $151,000 after acquiring an additional 19,655 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC grew its stake in loanDepot by 66.3% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 113,354 shares of the company’s stock valued at $294,000 after acquiring an additional 45,173 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 272 Capital LP grew its stake in loanDepot by 107.4% in the 2nd quarter. 272 Capital LP now owns 183,190 shares of the company’s stock valued at $302,000 after acquiring an additional 94,883 shares during the last quarter. 39.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on LDI shares. UBS Group upped their price target 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. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of loanDepot from $1.50 to $1.70 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of loanDepot in a research report on Friday, June 21st.

loanDepot Stock Performance

loanDepot stock traded down $0.15 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $3.04. 533,975 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 535,525. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.69, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.18. loanDepot has a 52-week low of $1.14 and a 52-week high of $3.71. The stock has a market cap of $983.71 million, a P/E ratio of -5.30 and a beta of 3.43. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $2.38 and its 200 day moving average is $2.24.

loanDepot (NYSE:LDI) last posted 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. loanDepot had a negative net margin of 11.22% and a negative return on equity of 18.22%. The business had revenue of $265.39 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $267.66 million. Analysts predict that loanDepot will post -0.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

loanDepot Company Profile

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.