Guild (NYSE:GHLD) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Time to Buy?

Guild Holdings (NYSE:GHLD) shares saw strong trading volume on Wednesday . 9,966 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 20% from the previous session’s volume of 12,472 shares.The stock last traded at $14.53 and had previously closed at $14.92.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GHLD. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Guild from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Wedbush raised their target price on Guild from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Guild from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, JMP Securities upped their price target on shares of Guild from $14.00 to $16.50 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $17.50.

Guild Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $899.30 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.52, a P/E/G ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $16.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $15.06.

Guild (NYSE:GHLD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.21. Guild had a return on equity of 5.83% and a net margin of 3.28%. The business had revenue of $285.69 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $257.97 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Guild Holdings will post 1.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Guild

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GHLD. Castleview Partners LLC purchased a new position in Guild in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $79,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Guild in the first quarter valued at $149,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in shares of Guild by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 27,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $410,000 after purchasing an additional 2,100 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Guild by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 237,853 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,508,000 after purchasing an additional 17,992 shares during the period. Finally, Donald Smith & CO. Inc. lifted its holdings in Guild by 2.1% during 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. 17.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.