Home Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBCP) Short Interest Up 16.4% in April

Home Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBCP) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 121,117 shares, an increase of 16.4% from the March 31st total of 104,019 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 156,709 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.8 days. Approximately 1.6% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Darren E. Guidry sold 1,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.78, for a total transaction of $100,448.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 18,530 shares in the company, valued at $1,163,313.40. This represents a 7.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Chris P. Rader purchased 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $59.50 per share, for a total transaction of $29,750.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 17,714 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,053,983. This trade represents a 2.90% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 6.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Home Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PDT Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Home Bancorp by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. PDT Partners LLC now owns 6,798 shares of the bank’s stock worth $352,000 after buying an additional 245 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in Home Bancorp by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 10,705 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $554,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Home Bancorp by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 106,303 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,144,000 after acquiring an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in Home Bancorp by 11.8% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 5,771 shares of the bank’s stock worth $258,000 after acquiring an additional 607 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in Home Bancorp by 4.0% in the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 16,439 shares of the bank’s stock worth $893,000 after purchasing an additional 637 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.41% of the company’s stock.

Home Bancorp Trading Up 1.7%

HBCP stock traded up $1.07 during trading on Friday, reaching $63.26. The company had a trading volume of 81,297 shares, compared to its average volume of 120,637. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.97. Home Bancorp has a 52 week low of $47.96 and a 52 week high of $65.94. The business has a 50 day moving average of $61.29 and a 200 day moving average of $58.92. The company has a market cap of $495.96 million, a P/E ratio of 10.63 and a beta of 0.50.

Home Bancorp (NASDAQ:HBCP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 20th. The bank reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.06. Home Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.00% and a net margin of 22.18%.The business had revenue of $38.22 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.63 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.37 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Home Bancorp will post 5.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 4th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 4th. Home Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HBCP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Home Bancorp in a report on Friday, March 27th. Piper Sandler lowered shares of Home Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $69.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Zacks Research cut shares of Home Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Hovde Group upped their price objective on shares of Home Bancorp from $62.00 to $65.50 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $65.50.

Home Bancorp Company Profile

Home Bancorp, Inc is the bank holding company for The Home National Bank, a full-service financial institution headquartered in Lafayette, Louisiana. The company operates as a regional commercial bank serving individuals, small businesses and municipalities across Louisiana and East Texas. Through its network of branches and digital banking platforms, Home Bancorp offers a range of deposit and lending solutions designed to meet the needs of its local markets.

The company’s core offerings include retail deposit products such as checking, savings and money market accounts, as well as a variety of commercial and consumer lending services.