HomeStreet (NASDAQ:HMST) Earns Sell Rating from Analysts at StockNews.com

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

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of HomeStreet from $13.50 to $14.50 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Janney Montgomery Scott raised shares of HomeStreet from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $13.50 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, HomeStreet presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $12.25.

HomeStreet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HMST opened at $15.25 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $287.58 million, a PE ratio of -7.16 and a beta of 1.37. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $14.42 and a 200 day moving average of $12.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.06, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. HomeStreet has a one year low of $4.20 and a one year high of $16.10.

HomeStreet (NASDAQ:HMST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported ($0.23) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by $0.01. The company had revenue of $114.35 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.33 million. HomeStreet had a negative net margin of 3.30% and a negative return on equity of 1.87%. As a group, research analysts predict that HomeStreet will post -0.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Paulette Lemon sold 2,401 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.59, for a total transaction of $37,431.59. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $263,829.57. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 4.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of HomeStreet

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HMST. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in HomeStreet in the 2nd quarter valued at about $122,000. EMC Capital Management raised its holdings in HomeStreet by 16.2% in the 1st quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 8,613 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $130,000 after buying an additional 1,201 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in HomeStreet in the 4th quarter valued at about $151,000. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its holdings in HomeStreet by 23.2% in 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 buying an additional 2,703 shares during the period. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC purchased a new stake in HomeStreet in the 4th quarter valued at about $170,000. 74.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.