HomeTrust Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:HTB) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts give HomeTrust Bancshares a “Moderate Buy” consensus: Two analysts rate the stock a buy, one a strong buy, and two a hold. The average 12-month price target is $52.00.
• Quarterly results exceeded expectations: HomeTrust reported earnings of $0.94 per share versus the $0.89 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $54.54 million compared with expectations of $53.22 million.
• The company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.15: The annualized dividend is $0.60 per share, representing a 1.2% yield and a 15.75% payout ratio. Shares recently traded at $48.31, within their 52-week range of $38.30 to $52.50.

Shares of HomeTrust Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:HTB - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the five analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $52.00.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of HomeTrust Bancshares from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of HomeTrust Bancshares in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Stephens lifted their price target on HomeTrust Bancshares from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Zacks Research lowered HomeTrust Bancshares from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 26th.

HomeTrust Bancshares Price Performance

HomeTrust Bancshares stock opened at $48.31 on Tuesday. The firm's fifty day moving average is $48.63 and its 200 day moving average is $46.55. 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 cap of $806.49 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.68 and a beta of 0.79. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $54.54 million during 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that HomeTrust Bancshares will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HomeTrust Bancshares Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at HomeTrust Bancshares

In other news, Director Laura Kendall sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director owned 24,229 shares in the company, valued at $1,238,828.77. This trade represents a 29.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 11.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HTB. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new position in HomeTrust Bancshares during the second quarter worth about $28,000. California State Teachers Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of HomeTrust Bancshares in the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. CrossGen Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of HomeTrust Bancshares in the first quarter valued at approximately $91,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of HomeTrust Bancshares in the first quarter valued at approximately $105,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in HomeTrust Bancshares during the second quarter worth approximately $148,000. 60.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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