StockNews.com Begins Coverage on HomeStreet (NASDAQ:HMST)

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of HomeStreet (NASDAQ:HMST) in a research report sent to investors on Monday. The brokerage issued a sell rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on HMST. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on HomeStreet from $11.00 to $15.50 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Wedbush upped their price objective on HomeStreet from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $12.17.

HomeStreet Trading Down 0.9 %

NASDAQ:HMST opened at $12.22 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $14.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.60. The stock has a market cap of $230.47 million, a P/E ratio of -8.37 and a beta of 1.32. HomeStreet has a 1 year low of $4.20 and a 1 year high of $18.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.66, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.11.

HomeStreet (NASDAQ:HMST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported ($0.12) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.03 by ($0.15). The business had revenue of $45.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.73 million. HomeStreet had a positive return on equity of 1.55% and a negative net margin of 6.23%. As a group, analysts anticipate that HomeStreet will post 0.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Joanne R. Harrell bought 1,685 shares of HomeStreet stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $14.87 per share, with a total value of $25,055.95. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 14,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $221,667.09. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 4.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of HomeStreet

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in HomeStreet by 1,460.5% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 184,013 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,433,000 after acquiring an additional 172,221 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its stake in HomeStreet by 47.6% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 435,099 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,389,000 after acquiring an additional 140,357 shares during the last quarter. Acuitas Investments LLC purchased a new stake in HomeStreet during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,435,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in HomeStreet by 167.2% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,284 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 2,055 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in HomeStreet by 49.6% during the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 33,802 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $263,000 after acquiring an additional 11,213 shares during the last quarter. 74.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.