HomeTrust Bancshares (NYSE:HTB) Stock Gets Downgrade from Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded HomeTrust Bancshares from “hold” to “sell,” although the broader analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy” with a $52.00 target price.
• HTB shares opened at $45.73, compared with a 52-week range of $38.30 to $52.50; the company has a $763.3 million market capitalization and a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.0.
• HomeTrust exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.94 in earnings per share versus an $0.89 estimate and $54.54 million in revenue, while institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.94% of the stock.

HomeTrust Bancshares (NYSE:HTB - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on HTB. Raymond James Financial raised shares of HomeTrust Bancshares to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Zacks Research cut HomeTrust Bancshares from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an "outperform" rating on shares of HomeTrust Bancshares in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Weiss Ratings raised HomeTrust Bancshares from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Stephens boosted their target price on HomeTrust Bancshares from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, HomeTrust Bancshares presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $52.00.

HomeTrust Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of HTB opened at $45.73 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $47.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market capitalization of $763.30 million, a PE ratio of 12.00 and a beta of 0.81. HomeTrust Bancshares has a 52-week low of $38.30 and a 52-week high of $52.50.

HomeTrust Bancshares (NYSE:HTB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $54.54 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $53.22 million. HomeTrust Bancshares had a net margin of 22.50% and a return on equity of 10.88%. Equities research analysts predict that HomeTrust Bancshares will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other HomeTrust Bancshares 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 value of $511,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 24,229 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,238,828.77. The trade was a 29.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 11.02% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HomeTrust Bancshares

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Engineers Gate Manager LP purchased a new position in HomeTrust Bancshares during the second quarter worth about $370,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new position in shares of HomeTrust Bancshares during the 2nd quarter valued at about $400,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of HomeTrust Bancshares by 12.9% during the 2nd quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC now owns 13,925 shares of the company's stock valued at $695,000 after acquiring an additional 1,589 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of HomeTrust Bancshares during the 2nd quarter worth about $293,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of HomeTrust Bancshares during the 2nd quarter worth about $4,099,000. 60.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About HomeTrust Bancshares

HomeTrust Bancshares, Inc is the holding company for HomeTrust Bank, a community-focused financial institution headquartered in Asheville, North Carolina. Founded in 1926 as Asheville Savings Bank, the company adopted the HomeTrust name as it expanded beyond its original market and became a publicly traded company in 2012.

HomeTrust Bank provides a range of banking services for individuals, businesses and institutions. Its offerings include checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, residential and commercial real estate loans, consumer lending, commercial and industrial financing, and other deposit and credit products.

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