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

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

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on HomeStreet from $11.00 to $15.50 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Wedbush raised their price objective on HomeStreet from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, HomeStreet currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $12.17.

HomeStreet Price Performance

HMST opened at $12.22 on Monday. HomeStreet has a 12-month low of $4.20 and a 12-month high of $18.40. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $14.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.60. The company has a market capitalization of $230.47 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.37 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.66.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at HomeStreet

In other HomeStreet news, Director Joanne R. Harrell purchased 1,685 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $14.87 per share, for a total transaction of $25,055.95. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 14,907 shares in the company, valued at approximately $221,667.09. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 4.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HomeStreet

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HMST. CCG Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of HomeStreet by 29.3% in the first quarter. CCG Wealth Management LLC now owns 229,781 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,458,000 after purchasing an additional 52,136 shares during the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of HomeStreet in the fourth quarter worth about $2,112,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of HomeStreet by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 976,964 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,063,000 after purchasing an additional 30,774 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of HomeStreet by 24.4% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 122,857 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,265,000 after purchasing an additional 24,133 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of HomeStreet in the fourth quarter worth about $461,000. 74.71% of the stock is currently 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.