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

HomeStreet, Inc. (NASDAQ:HMST - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 424,100 shares, an increase of 21.4% from the March 31st total of 349,300 shares. Approximately 2.3% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 186,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.3 days.

Institutional Trading of HomeStreet

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of HMST. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in HomeStreet by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 16,222 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $186,000 after acquiring an additional 1,136 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in HomeStreet by 66.1% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,181 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 1,266 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd lifted its position in shares of HomeStreet by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 16,635 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $195,000 after acquiring an additional 1,359 shares during the period. EMC Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of HomeStreet by 20.8% in the 4th quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 8,613 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $98,000 after acquiring an additional 1,484 shares during the period. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its stake in HomeStreet by 27.5% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 10,852 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $124,000 after purchasing an additional 2,339 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.71% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HMST has been the topic of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on HomeStreet from $12.00 to $13.50 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of HomeStreet from $10.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded HomeStreet from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded HomeStreet from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $14.00.

HomeStreet Trading Up 1.4 %

HomeStreet stock traded up $0.18 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $12.26. 92,943 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 157,204. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09. The firm has a market cap of $231.88 million, a PE ratio of -1.60 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $10.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $10.78. HomeStreet has a 12-month low of $8.09 and a 12-month high of $16.10.

HomeStreet (NASDAQ:HMST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The financial services provider reported ($0.15) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.07) by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $85.77 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $46.61 million. HomeStreet had a negative return on equity of 4.23% and a negative net margin of 40.30%. Research analysts expect that HomeStreet will post 0.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About HomeStreet

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.