Home Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBCP) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Home Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBCP) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 104,632 shares, a growth of 22.6% from the February 26th total of 85,371 shares. Approximately 1.4% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 99,278 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.1 days.

Insider Activity at Home Bancorp

In related news, Director Chris P. Rader purchased 500 shares of Home Bancorp stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $59.50 per share, for a total transaction of $29,750.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 17,714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,053,983. This represents a 2.90% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 7.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Home Bancorp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Home Bancorp by 52.6% during the third quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 108,314 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,884,000 after buying an additional 37,318 shares during the last quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Home Bancorp during the third quarter worth about $932,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Home Bancorp by 20.9% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 126,791 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,565,000 after acquiring an additional 21,945 shares during the last quarter. TrueMark Investments LLC bought a new position in Home Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,054,000. Finally, Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Home Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at about $932,000. 49.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Home Bancorp Trading Up 2.7%

HBCP traded up $1.64 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $62.22. 47,451 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 73,782. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $60.38 and its 200 day moving average is $57.69. Home Bancorp has a 12 month low of $39.59 and a 12 month high of $64.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $487.52 million, a PE ratio of 10.62 and a beta of 0.58.

Home Bancorp (NASDAQ:HBCP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 26th. The bank reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $38.05 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.73 million. Home Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 22.01%. Equities analysts anticipate that Home Bancorp will post 4.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Home Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th were issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. Home Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 21.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on HBCP shares. Zacks Research lowered Home Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Hovde Group increased their target price on shares of Home Bancorp from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Home Bancorp in a report on Friday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $63.00.

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.