HomeStreet, Inc. (NASDAQ:HMST) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

HomeStreet, Inc. (NASDAQ:HMST - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 419,800 shares, a growth of 53.1% from the October 31st total of 274,200 shares. Approximately 2.4% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 147,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.8 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com assumed coverage on HomeStreet in a research report on Sunday, September 22nd. They issued a "sell" rating on the stock. Wedbush raised HomeStreet from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $12.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott lowered HomeStreet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Joanne R. Harrell bought 2,146 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $11.65 per share, with a total value of $25,000.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,053 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $198,667.45. This represents a 14.40 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO John Michel sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.26, for a total value of $90,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,409 shares in the company, valued at $319,885.34. This represents a 21.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 4.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of HMST. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new position in HomeStreet during the second quarter valued at about $122,000. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its stake in HomeStreet by 23.2% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 14,350 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $164,000 after buying an additional 2,703 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in HomeStreet by 10.3% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 14,446 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $218,000 after buying an additional 1,354 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in HomeStreet by 276.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 23,937 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $377,000 after buying an additional 17,578 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in HomeStreet during the second quarter valued at about $410,000. Institutional investors own 74.71% of the company's stock.

HomeStreet Stock Performance

Shares of HMST traded up $0.42 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $11.88. 123,048 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 198,231. The firm has a market capitalization of $224.06 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.82 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.94, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.15. HomeStreet has a twelve month low of $6.48 and a twelve month high of $16.10. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $13.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $12.71.

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.

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