Short Interest in HomeTrust Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:HTB) Increases By 100.8%

HomeTrust Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:HTB) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 756,230 shares, a growth of 100.8% from the August 15th total of 376,659 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 285,043 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.7 days. Approximately 5.1% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Laura Kendall sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through the SEC website. 11.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HTB. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of HomeTrust Bancshares in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. California State Teachers Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of HomeTrust Bancshares during the first quarter worth about $37,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of HomeTrust Bancshares by 12.9% in the second 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 bought a new stake in shares of HomeTrust Bancshares during the first quarter worth $91,000. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in HomeTrust Bancshares in the 1st quarter valued at $105,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.94% of the company’s stock.

HomeTrust Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of HTB stock traded down $0.49 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $47.33. 52,033 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 112,458. 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 stock has a market cap of $789.89 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.43 and a beta of 0.79. HomeTrust Bancshares has a 52 week low of $38.30 and a 52 week high of $52.50. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $48.61 and its 200-day moving average is $46.58.

HomeTrust Bancshares (NYSE:HTB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.05. The company 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that HomeTrust Bancshares will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

HomeTrust Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 13th were paid 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 dividend yield of 1.3%. HomeTrust Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is 15.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of HomeTrust Bancshares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of HomeTrust Bancshares in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Weiss Ratings upgraded HomeTrust Bancshares from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Stephens upped their price target on shares of HomeTrust Bancshares from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. One 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.00.

HomeTrust Bancshares Company Profile

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.