Home Bancorp (NASDAQ:HBCP) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Home Bancorp shares traded at about $70.24 amid elevated but declining volume, with roughly 69,698 shares changing hands. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $69.50, including Raymond James’ $74 target.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.48 EPS versus a $1.46 estimate and revenue of $39.72 million versus $38.57 million expected. Net margin was 22.23% and return on equity was 10.65%.
• Home Bancorp raised its quarterly dividend to $0.32 per share, equivalent to a $1.28 annualized payout and a 1.8% yield. Institutional investors own 49.41% of the stock, while an executive recently sold 750 shares.

Shares of Home Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBCP - Get Free Report) saw an uptick in trading volume on Friday . Approximately 69,698 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 21% from the previous session's volume of 88,631 shares.The stock last traded at $70.2350 and had previously closed at $69.91.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on HBCP. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $74.00 target price on shares of Home Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (a-)" rating on shares of Home Bancorp in a report on Friday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $69.50.

Home Bancorp Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $65.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $553.70 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.81 and a beta of 0.49.

Home Bancorp (NASDAQ:HBCP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 20th. The bank reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $39.72 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.57 million. Home Bancorp had a net margin of 22.23% and a return on equity of 10.65%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Home Bancorp, Inc. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Home Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is a boost from Home Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. Home Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP John Zollinger, IV sold 750 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.68, for a total transaction of $53,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 7,643 shares of the company's stock, valued at $547,850.24. This trade represents a 8.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 6.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Home Bancorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its position in Home Bancorp by 64.2% during the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 119,053 shares of the bank's stock valued at $6,468,000 after buying an additional 46,546 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in Home Bancorp by 636.7% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 42,027 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,176,000 after purchasing an additional 36,322 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Home Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,429,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in Home Bancorp by 668.5% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 38,040 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,970,000 after buying an additional 33,090 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Home Bancorp by 41.4% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 103,243 shares of the bank's stock worth $5,967,000 after buying an additional 30,224 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.41% of the company's stock.

About Home Bancorp

Home Bancorp, Inc is the bank holding company for The Home National Bank, a full-service financial institution headquartered in Lafayette, Louisiana. The company operates as a regional commercial bank serving individuals, small businesses and municipalities across Louisiana and East Texas. Through its network of branches and digital banking platforms, Home Bancorp offers a range of deposit and lending solutions designed to meet the needs of its local markets.

The company's core offerings include retail deposit products such as checking, savings and money market accounts, as well as a variety of commercial and consumer lending services.

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