Home Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBCP) Short Interest Update

Home Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBCP) saw a significant growth in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 34,800 shares, a growth of 42.6% from the February 28th total of 24,400 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 24,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.4 days. Currently, 0.5% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Home Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of HBCP traded down $1.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $45.30. 11,457 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,581. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $47.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $46.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96. Home Bancorp has a 52-week low of $33.30 and a 52-week high of $52.77. The company has a market cap of $366.84 million, a PE ratio of 9.96 and a beta of 0.72.

Home Bancorp (NASDAQ:HBCP) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The bank reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.07. Home Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.57% and a net margin of 18.27%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.17 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Home Bancorp will post 4.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Home Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This is an increase from Home Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.38%. Home Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.74%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Home Bancorp

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Home Bancorp by 72.6% during the 4th quarter. Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC now owns 72,962 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,372,000 after buying an additional 30,681 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Home Bancorp by 49.8% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 77,068 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,561,000 after purchasing an additional 25,617 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC acquired a new stake in Home Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $919,000. Citadel Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Home Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $774,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Home Bancorp by 110.9% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 30,942 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,430,000 after purchasing an additional 16,274 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 49.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on HBCP. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Home Bancorp in a research report on Friday, February 21st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $60.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Home Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st.

About Home Bancorp

Home Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Home Bank, National Association that provides various banking products and services in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. It offers deposit products, including interest-bearing and noninterest-bearing checking, money market, savings, NOW, and certificates of deposit accounts.