HomeTrust Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:HTB) Stock Short Interest Rises 50.7%

Key Points

• Short interest surged 50.7% to 1.14 million shares as of September 15, representing 7.7% of HomeTrust Bancshares’ outstanding shares and 4.9 days to cover.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive, with an average “Moderate Buy” rating and a $52.00 price target, although Zacks Research downgraded the stock to “Hold.”
• HTB shares recently traded at $46.04, while the company reported quarterly EPS of $0.94—beating estimates—and maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, yielding about 1.3%.

HomeTrust Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:HTB - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totaling 1,139,502 shares, an increase of 50.7% from the August 31st total of 756,230 shares. Approximately 7.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 230,989 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.9 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HTB has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of HomeTrust Bancshares from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of HomeTrust Bancshares in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of HomeTrust Bancshares from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded HomeTrust Bancshares from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, HomeTrust Bancshares currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $52.00.

Insider Activity at HomeTrust Bancshares

In related news, Director Laura Kendall sold 10,000 shares of HomeTrust Bancshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.13, for a total transaction of $511,300.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 24,229 shares in the company, valued at $1,238,828.77. This trade represents a 29.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 11.02% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HomeTrust Bancshares

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new stake in HomeTrust Bancshares in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. California State Teachers Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of HomeTrust Bancshares in the first quarter worth $37,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC boosted 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 valued at $695,000 after buying an additional 1,589 shares during the period. CrossGen Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in HomeTrust Bancshares during the 1st quarter valued at $91,000. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in HomeTrust Bancshares in the 1st quarter worth $105,000. 60.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

HomeTrust Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HTB traded up $0.27 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $46.04. 199,241 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 120,152. HomeTrust Bancshares has a 52 week low of $38.30 and a 52 week high of $52.50. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $48.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $768.41 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.08 and a beta of 0.79.

HomeTrust Bancshares (NYSE:HTB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. Analysts predict that HomeTrust Bancshares will post 3.68 EPS for the current year.

HomeTrust Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 13th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 13th. HomeTrust Bancshares's payout ratio is presently 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.

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