HomeStreet, Inc. (NASDAQ:HMST) Short Interest Update

HomeStreet, Inc. (NASDAQ:HMST) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 549,400 shares, a decrease of 6.2% from the March 31st total of 586,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 204,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.7 days. Currently, 3.2% of the company’s stock are sold short.

HomeStreet Price Performance

Shares of HomeStreet stock opened at $12.28 on Tuesday. HomeStreet has a one year low of $4.20 and a one year high of $15.82. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $14.01 and its 200 day moving average is $10.88. The stock has a market cap of $231.60 million, a P/E ratio of -8.41 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.66, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.11.

HomeStreet (NASDAQ:HMST) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported ($0.12) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.03 by ($0.15). HomeStreet had a positive return on equity of 1.55% and a negative net margin of 6.23%. The company had revenue of $45.95 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.73 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that HomeStreet will post 0.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Joanne R. Harrell purchased 1,685 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were bought at an average price of $14.87 per share, for a total transaction of $25,055.95. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 14,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $221,667.09. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 4.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HomeStreet

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Acuitas Investments LLC raised its holdings in HomeStreet by 86.0% in the 4th quarter. Acuitas Investments LLC now owns 342,643 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,529,000 after purchasing an additional 158,455 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in HomeStreet by 1,460.5% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 184,013 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,433,000 after acquiring an additional 172,221 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its holdings in HomeStreet by 47.6% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 435,099 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,389,000 after acquiring an additional 140,357 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in HomeStreet by 167.2% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,284 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 2,055 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in HomeStreet during the fourth quarter valued at about $129,000. 74.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on HMST shares. StockNews.com started coverage on HomeStreet in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. They set a “sell” rating on the stock. Wedbush increased their price target on HomeStreet from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on HomeStreet from $11.00 to $15.50 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $12.17.

About HomeStreet

HomeStreet, Inc operates as the bank holding company for HomeStreet Bank that provides commercial, mortgage, and consumer/retail banking services in the Western United States. The company offers personal and business checking, savings, interest-bearing negotiable order of withdrawal, and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposit; credit cards; insurance; and treasury management services.