Acuitas Investments LLC Increases Stock Holdings in HomeStreet, Inc. (NASDAQ:HMST)

Acuitas Investments LLC lifted its stake in HomeStreet, Inc. (NASDAQ:HMST) by 86.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 342,643 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 158,455 shares during the quarter. HomeStreet comprises 1.8% of Acuitas Investments LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Acuitas Investments LLC owned about 1.82% of HomeStreet worth $3,529,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of HomeStreet by 2,222.2% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,553 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 3,400 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of HomeStreet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $129,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 worth $3,389,000 after acquiring an additional 140,357 shares during the last quarter. Terrapin Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of HomeStreet during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,926,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of HomeStreet during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $478,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at HomeStreet

In related news, Director Joanne R. Harrell purchased 1,685 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $14.87 per share, for a total transaction of $25,055.95. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 14,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $221,667.09. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 4.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HMST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wedbush raised their price target on HomeStreet from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on HomeStreet from $11.00 to $15.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on HomeStreet in a research note on Tuesday. They set a “sell” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, HomeStreet presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.17.

HomeStreet Stock Down 5.4 %

NASDAQ HMST traded down $0.70 on Wednesday, reaching $12.27. 174,035 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 290,142. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.66, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.11. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $14.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $10.76. The company has a market cap of $231.39 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.40 and a beta of 1.32. HomeStreet, Inc. has a 12 month low of $4.20 and a 12 month high of $15.82.

HomeStreet (NASDAQ:HMST) last issued its earnings results 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). The firm had revenue of $45.95 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.73 million. HomeStreet had a negative net margin of 6.23% and a positive return on equity of 1.55%. As a group, research analysts forecast that HomeStreet, Inc. will post 0.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HomeStreet 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.