Short Interest in HomeStreet, Inc. (NASDAQ:HMST) Increases By 5.8%

HomeStreet, Inc. (NASDAQ:HMST) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 666,900 shares, an increase of 5.8% from the June 30th total of 630,500 shares. Approximately 3.8% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 168,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.0 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on HMST shares. Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded shares of HomeStreet from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $13.50 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of HomeStreet from $13.50 to $14.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of HomeStreet in a report on Sunday. They issued a “sell” rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.25.

HomeStreet Trading Up 3.8 %

HMST stock opened at $14.40 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.40, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $10.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $12.50. HomeStreet has a twelve month low of $4.20 and a twelve month high of $15.82.

HomeStreet (NASDAQ:HMST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported ($0.23) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by $0.01. The company had revenue of $114.35 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.33 million. HomeStreet had a negative net margin of 3.30% and a negative return on equity of 1.87%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that HomeStreet will post -0.75 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of HomeStreet

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kennedy Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of HomeStreet in the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,720,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in HomeStreet during the fourth quarter valued at $2,112,000. Acuitas Investments LLC increased its stake in HomeStreet by 86.0% during the fourth quarter. Acuitas Investments LLC now owns 342,643 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,529,000 after purchasing an additional 158,455 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of HomeStreet by 27.9% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 586,929 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,045,000 after purchasing an additional 127,969 shares during the period. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP lifted its position in shares of HomeStreet by 70.8% in the 4th quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 167,420 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,724,000 after buying an additional 69,384 shares during the last quarter. 74.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.