HomeStreet, Inc. (NASDAQ:HMST) Short Interest Down 11.8% in October

HomeStreet, Inc. (NASDAQ:HMST) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 274,200 shares, a drop of 11.8% from the October 15th total of 311,000 shares. Approximately 1.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 126,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.2 days.

Insider Activity at HomeStreet

In other HomeStreet news, Director Paulette Lemon sold 2,401 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.59, for a total transaction of $37,431.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $263,829.57. This trade represents a 12.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 4.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HomeStreet

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HMST. State Street Corp lifted its position in HomeStreet by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 422,031 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,651,000 after acquiring an additional 1,083 shares during the last quarter. EMC Capital Management increased its stake in shares of HomeStreet by 16.2% in the first quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 8,613 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $130,000 after purchasing an additional 1,201 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of HomeStreet by 10.3% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 14,446 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $218,000 after purchasing an additional 1,354 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its stake in HomeStreet by 23.2% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 14,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $164,000 after purchasing an additional 2,703 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in HomeStreet by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 70,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $809,000 after buying an additional 3,113 shares during the last quarter. 74.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

HomeStreet Stock Down 3.1 %

NASDAQ:HMST traded down $0.35 on Monday, hitting $11.08. 102,507 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 197,496. HomeStreet has a 1 year low of $5.98 and a 1 year high of $16.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.94. The company has a market cap of $208.95 million, a PE ratio of -8.52 and a beta of 1.42. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $13.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $12.69.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on HMST. Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded shares of HomeStreet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on HomeStreet from $13.50 to $14.50 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Wedbush raised HomeStreet from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $12.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on HomeStreet in a report on Sunday, September 22nd. They set a “sell” rating for the company.

HomeStreet Company Profile

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.