HomeStreet, Inc. (NASDAQ:HMST) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

HomeStreet, Inc. (NASDAQ:HMST) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 530,200 shares, a drop of 11.6% from the July 31st total of 600,000 shares. Approximately 3.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 154,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.4 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on HMST shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on HomeStreet from $13.50 to $14.50 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. StockNews.com started coverage on HomeStreet in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “sell” rating for the company. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott raised shares of HomeStreet from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $13.50 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, HomeStreet has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.25.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HomeStreet

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in HomeStreet by 2,222.2% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,553 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 3,400 shares during the last quarter. AJOVista LLC purchased a new position in shares of HomeStreet during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. EMC Capital Management increased its position in shares of HomeStreet by 16.2% during the 1st quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 8,613 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $130,000 after purchasing an additional 1,201 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in HomeStreet in the 2nd quarter valued at about $122,000. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its position in HomeStreet by 23.2% in the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 14,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $164,000 after buying an additional 2,703 shares during the last quarter. 74.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

HomeStreet Price Performance

Shares of HomeStreet stock traded up $0.43 on Monday, hitting $16.00. 94,500 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 215,118. HomeStreet has a 1-year low of $4.20 and a 1-year high of $16.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $301.76 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.51 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $13.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.66.

HomeStreet (NASDAQ:HMST) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported ($0.23) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by $0.01. HomeStreet had a negative return on equity of 1.87% and a negative net margin of 3.30%. The company had revenue of $114.35 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $43.33 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that HomeStreet will post -0.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HomeStreet Company Profile

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.