Home Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBCP) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Home Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBCP - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 34,800 shares, an increase of 42.6% from the February 28th total of 24,400 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 24,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.4 days. Approximately 0.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Home Bancorp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HBCP. Picton Mahoney Asset Management raised its position in Home Bancorp by 100.7% in the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 590 shares of the bank's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its stake in Home Bancorp by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 8,700 shares of the bank's stock worth $402,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Martingale Asset Management L P lifted its holdings in Home Bancorp by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 14,172 shares of the bank's stock worth $632,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Home Bancorp by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 18,187 shares of the bank's stock worth $840,000 after buying an additional 418 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in Home Bancorp by 27.2% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,125 shares of the bank's stock valued at $144,000 after buying an additional 668 shares during the period. 49.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Home Bancorp Trading Down 6.9 %

Home Bancorp stock traded down $3.10 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $41.99. The company's stock had a trading volume of 23,011 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,884. The stock's fifty day moving average is $47.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $340.04 million, a PE ratio of 9.23 and a beta of 0.72. Home Bancorp has a 1 year low of $33.30 and a 1 year high of $52.77.

Home Bancorp (NASDAQ:HBCP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The bank reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 in the previous year, the firm posted $1.17 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Home Bancorp will post 4.78 EPS for the current year.

Home Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This is a boost 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 2.57%. Home Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Home Bancorp in a report on Friday, February 21st. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $60.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com lowered 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.