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

HomeStreet, Inc. (NASDAQ:HMST) saw a significant decline in short interest during the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 530,200 shares, a decline of 11.6% from the July 31st total of 600,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 154,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.4 days. Currently, 3.0% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on HMST shares. StockNews.com started coverage on HomeStreet in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “sell” rating for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of HomeStreet from $13.50 to $14.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. 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 assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.25.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HomeStreet

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CWM LLC lifted its stake in HomeStreet by 2,222.2% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,553 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 3,400 shares in the last quarter. AJOVista LLC acquired a new stake in shares of HomeStreet during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new position in shares of HomeStreet in the second quarter valued at approximately $122,000. EMC Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of HomeStreet by 16.2% in the first quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 8,613 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $130,000 after purchasing an additional 1,201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in HomeStreet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $151,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.71% of the company’s stock.

HomeStreet Trading Up 2.8 %

Shares of HomeStreet stock traded up $0.43 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $16.00. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 94,524 shares, compared to its average volume of 77,694. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $13.52 and a 200-day moving average of $12.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.06, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. HomeStreet has a twelve month low of $4.20 and a twelve month high of $16.00.

HomeStreet (NASDAQ:HMST) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported ($0.23) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.24) by $0.01. HomeStreet had a negative net margin of 3.30% and a negative return on equity of 1.87%. The company had revenue of $114.35 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $43.33 million. On average, equities analysts forecast 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.