HomeTrust Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTBI) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

by · The Markets Daily

HomeTrust Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTBI – Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 77,900 shares, a drop of 12.8% from the September 30th total of 89,300 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 44,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.8 days. Approximately 0.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HomeTrust Bancshares

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in HTBI. Rosenthal Henry Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of HomeTrust Bancshares during the third quarter valued at approximately $911,000. Creative Planning purchased a new position in HomeTrust Bancshares during the 3rd quarter valued at $266,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in HomeTrust Bancshares in the 3rd quarter valued at $326,000. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in HomeTrust Bancshares in the second quarter worth $201,000. Finally, Huber Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of HomeTrust Bancshares by 9.1% during the second quarter. Huber Capital Management LLC now owns 17,742 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $533,000 after purchasing an additional 1,487 shares during the last quarter. 60.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on HTBI shares. StockNews.com upgraded HomeTrust Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Hovde Group initiated coverage on shares of HomeTrust Bancshares in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $42.00 price objective for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $39.00 target price (up previously from $38.00) on shares of HomeTrust Bancshares in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Raymond James cut shares of HomeTrust Bancshares from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, HomeTrust Bancshares presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.75.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on HTBI

HomeTrust Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HTBI traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $33.10. 28,766 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 38,924. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.08. HomeTrust Bancshares has a 1 year low of $20.22 and a 1 year high of $36.79. The company’s 50-day moving average is $34.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.11. The company has a market capitalization of $577.43 million, a P/E ratio of 9.57 and a beta of 0.81.

HomeTrust Bancshares (NASDAQ:HTBI – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.80 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $74.93 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $50.13 million. HomeTrust Bancshares had a net margin of 19.42% and a return on equity of 11.04%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that HomeTrust Bancshares will post 3.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HomeTrust Bancshares Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This is a boost from HomeTrust Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. HomeTrust Bancshares’s payout ratio is 13.91%.

HomeTrust Bancshares Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

HomeTrust Bancshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for HomeTrust Bank that provides a range of retail and commercial banking products and services. The company’s deposit products include savings, money market, noninterest-bearing, and interest-bearing checking accounts, as well as certificates of deposit for individuals, business, and nonprofit organizations.

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