Short Interest in Home Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBCP) Rises By 34.5%

Home Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBCP) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 92,448 shares, a growth of 34.5% from the December 31st total of 68,729 shares. Currently, 1.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 24,552 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.8 days. Based on an average trading volume of 24,552 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.8 days. Currently, 1.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of Home Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Home Bancorp in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Hovde Group upped their target price on Home Bancorp from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.00.

Home Bancorp Price Performance

HBCP stock traded up $0.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $59.69. 43,838 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 26,790. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $58.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $55.94. Home Bancorp has a 12 month low of $39.59 and a 12 month high of $64.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $467.25 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.17 and a beta of 0.60.

Home Bancorp (NASDAQ:HBCP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 26th. The bank reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $37.26 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.73 million. Home Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.19% and a net margin of 22.01%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Home Bancorp will post 4.78 EPS for the current year.

Home Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 9th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Home Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.12%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Home Bancorp

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Home Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $46,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 769 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Home Bancorp by 31.1% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,713 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $89,000 after acquiring an additional 406 shares in the last quarter. Canton Hathaway LLC bought a new position in Home Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth $118,000. Finally, Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Home Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth about $212,000. 49.41% of the stock is 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.