HomeTrust Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:HTB) Stock Now Rated "Moderate Buy" by Sell-Side Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts rate HomeTrust Bancshares a “Moderate Buy,” with two buy ratings, one strong-buy rating and three holds. The average 12-month price target is $52, compared with a recent price of $45.73.
• HomeTrust exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.94 in EPS versus the $0.89 consensus and revenue of $54.54 million. The company also pays a $0.15 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 1.3% yield.
• Institutional investors own 60.94% of the stock, while insiders own 11.02%; notably, a director sold 10,000 shares valued at approximately $511,300.

HomeTrust Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:HTB - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the six analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $52.00.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on HTB shares. Raymond James Financial upgraded HomeTrust Bancshares to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered HomeTrust Bancshares from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday. Stephens lifted their price target on HomeTrust Bancshares from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Weiss Ratings upgraded HomeTrust Bancshares from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of HomeTrust Bancshares in a report on Wednesday, August 19th.

HomeTrust Bancshares Stock Performance

NYSE HTB opened at $45.73 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $47.54 and a 200-day moving average of $47.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market cap 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 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 business had revenue of $54.54 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $53.22 million. HomeTrust Bancshares had a net margin of 22.50% and a return on equity of 10.88%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that HomeTrust Bancshares will post 3.71 EPS for the current year.

HomeTrust Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 13th were given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 13th. HomeTrust Bancshares's payout ratio is presently 15.75%.

Insider Activity at HomeTrust Bancshares

In related news, Director Laura Kendall sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.13, for a total value of $511,300.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 24,229 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,238,828.77. This represents a 29.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 11.02% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Engineers Gate Manager LP bought a new position in shares of HomeTrust Bancshares during the second quarter worth approximately $370,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new stake in shares of HomeTrust Bancshares in the second quarter valued at approximately $400,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC grew its position in HomeTrust Bancshares by 12.9% during the second quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC now owns 13,925 shares of the company's stock worth $695,000 after buying an additional 1,589 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Securities LLC acquired a new stake in HomeTrust Bancshares during the second quarter worth approximately $293,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in HomeTrust Bancshares during the 2nd quarter worth $4,099,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.94% of the company's stock.

HomeTrust Bancshares Company Profile

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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