HomeTrust Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:HTB) Short Interest Update

HomeTrust Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:HTB) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 756,230 shares, an increase of 100.8% from the August 15th total of 376,659 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 285,043 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.7 days. Approximately 5.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on HTB. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of HomeTrust Bancshares in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Stephens raised their price target on shares of HomeTrust Bancshares from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Zacks Research lowered shares of HomeTrust Bancshares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of HomeTrust Bancshares from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, HomeTrust Bancshares has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Laura Kendall sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.13, for a total transaction of $511,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 24,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,238,828.77. The trade was a 29.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 11.02% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HomeTrust Bancshares

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of HomeTrust Bancshares in the second quarter worth $28,000. California State Teachers Retirement System bought a new position in HomeTrust Bancshares during the 1st quarter worth $37,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC raised its position in HomeTrust Bancshares by 12.9% during the 2nd quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC now owns 13,925 shares of the company’s stock worth $695,000 after purchasing an additional 1,589 shares during the last quarter. CrossGen Wealth LLC acquired a new position in HomeTrust Bancshares during the 1st quarter worth about $91,000. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in HomeTrust Bancshares during the 1st quarter worth about $105,000. Institutional investors own 60.94% of the company’s stock.

HomeTrust Bancshares Price Performance

HTB stock traded down $0.23 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $48.31. 273,088 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 112,301. HomeTrust Bancshares has a 52 week low of $38.30 and a 52 week high of $52.50. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $48.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $806.34 million, a PE ratio of 12.68 and a beta of 0.79.

HomeTrust Bancshares (NYSE:HTB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $54.54 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $53.22 million. HomeTrust Bancshares had a return on equity of 10.88% and a net margin of 22.50%. As a group, analysts expect that HomeTrust Bancshares will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HomeTrust Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 13th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 13th. HomeTrust Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.75%.

About HomeTrust Bancshares

HomeTrust Bancshares, Inc is the bank holding company for HomeTrust Bank, a community-focused financial institution headquartered in Asheville, North Carolina. Founded in 1926, HomeTrust Bank provides banking and financial services to individuals, families, businesses and nonprofit organizations.

The bank offers a range of deposit products, including checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit and money market accounts. Its lending activities include residential mortgages, home equity loans, consumer loans, commercial real estate financing and loans for small and mid-sized businesses.