Home Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBCP) Short Interest Up 165.8% in June

Home Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBCP) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totaling 357,269 shares, an increase of 165.8% from the June 15th total of 134,436 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 125,712 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.8 days. Currently, 4.9% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Home Bancorp Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of Home Bancorp stock traded up $0.84 on Wednesday, hitting $69.23. The company had a trading volume of 112,246 shares, compared to its average volume of 86,709. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $66.15 and a 200-day moving average of $62.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Home Bancorp has a twelve month low of $49.49 and a twelve month high of $71.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $542.76 million, a P/E ratio of 11.64 and a beta of 0.49.

Home Bancorp (NASDAQ:HBCP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 20th. The bank reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $38.22 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.63 million. Home Bancorp had a net margin of 22.18% and a return on equity of 10.86%. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.37 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Home Bancorp will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Home Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 4th were issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. Home Bancorp’s payout ratio is 20.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Zacks Research downgraded Home Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Piper Sandler cut Home Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $69.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Hovde Group increased their price target on Home Bancorp from $62.00 to $65.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Home Bancorp from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Home Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Home Bancorp

In related news, Director Daniel G. Guidry sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.50, for a total value of $64,500.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 64,019 shares in the company, valued at $4,129,225.50. This represents a 1.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO David T. Kirkley sold 655 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.80, for a total transaction of $41,134.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 5,064 shares in the company, valued at approximately $318,019.20. The trade was a 11.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 5,653 shares of company stock worth $359,063 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 6.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Home Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $46,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in shares of Home Bancorp by 116.3% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,430 shares of the bank’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 769 shares in the last quarter. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP acquired a new position in Home Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth $202,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV bought a new position in Home Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $208,000. Finally, Mariner LLC acquired a new stake in Home Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at $211,000. 49.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.