HomeTrust Bancshares (NYSE:HTB) Hits New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

HomeTrust Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:HTB)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday after Zacks Research upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating. The stock traded as high as $51.00 and last traded at $50.60, with a volume of 3110 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $48.70.

A number of other analysts also recently commented 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded HomeTrust Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 4th. Finally, Hovde Group upped their price target on HomeTrust Bancshares from $46.50 to $47.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, HomeTrust Bancshares has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Kristin Y. Powell sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.78, for a total transaction of $46,780.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 21,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,010,214.10. This trade represents a 4.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Hunter Westbrook sold 3,904 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.17, for a total value of $180,247.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 105,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,886,078.76. The trade was a 3.56% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 61,000 shares of company stock worth $2,794,550 over the last three months. Insiders own 11.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of HomeTrust Bancshares

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HTB. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP acquired a new position in shares of HomeTrust Bancshares in the first quarter valued at approximately $35,667,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in HomeTrust Bancshares in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $19,884,000. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of HomeTrust Bancshares in the first quarter valued at $3,255,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in HomeTrust Bancshares in the first quarter valued at $2,926,000. Finally, Rosenthal Henry Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in HomeTrust Bancshares during the 1st quarter worth $2,135,000. 60.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

HomeTrust Bancshares Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $48.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The company has a market capitalization of $865.63 million, a P/E ratio of 13.52 and a beta of 0.80.

HomeTrust Bancshares (NYSE:HTB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.05. HomeTrust Bancshares had a net margin of 22.50% and a return on equity of 10.90%. The firm had revenue of $54.54 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $53.22 million. Research analysts anticipate that HomeTrust Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.87 EPS for the current year.

HomeTrust Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 13th. HomeTrust Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.75%.

About HomeTrust Bancshares

HomeTrust Bancshares, Inc is the bank holding company for HomeTrust Bank, a regional community bank that provides a range of commercial and consumer banking services. Through its subsidiary bank, the company offers traditional deposit and lending products, including checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, residential mortgages, home equity lending, and business loans. HomeTrust also delivers treasury management and payment services for small and midsize businesses, along with digital banking tools to support day-to-day account access and payments.

The company’s product set extends beyond core banking to include wealth management and trust services, commercial real estate financing, and specialized lending for agriculture and construction where relevant to local markets.