HomeTrust Bancshares (NYSE:HTB) Hits New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

HomeTrust Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:HTB) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading 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. The stock had previously closed at $48.70.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Hovde Group upped their price objective on shares of HomeTrust Bancshares from $46.50 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded HomeTrust Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised HomeTrust Bancshares from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $47.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Hunter Westbrook sold 31,022 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.81, for a total value of $1,421,117.82. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 105,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,847,980.68. This trade represents a 22.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Kristin Y. Powell sold 1,000 shares of HomeTrust Bancshares stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $1,010,214.10. This trade represents a 4.43% 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 quarter. 11.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of HomeTrust Bancshares

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. California State Teachers Retirement System bought a new position in HomeTrust Bancshares in the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000. CrossGen Wealth LLC bought 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 worth $105,000. Royal Bank of Canada acquired a new stake in shares of HomeTrust Bancshares in the first quarter worth $153,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in HomeTrust Bancshares during the first quarter worth $187,000. Institutional investors own 60.94% of the company’s stock.

HomeTrust Bancshares Stock Up 1.1%

The company has a market capitalization of $865.63 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.52 and a beta of 0.80. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $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.

HomeTrust Bancshares (NYSE:HTB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $53.22 million. As a group, analysts expect that HomeTrust Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HomeTrust Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 13th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is 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 (DPR) is 15.75%.

HomeTrust Bancshares Company Profile

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.