StockNews.com Initiates Coverage on HomeTrust Bancshares (NASDAQ:HTBI)

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of HomeTrust Bancshares (NASDAQ:HTBI) in a research note released on Wednesday morning. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of HomeTrust Bancshares from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th.

HomeTrust Bancshares Price Performance

HTBI stock opened at $36.53 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $35.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $35.30. The company has a market capitalization of $640.28 million, a P/E ratio of 11.41 and a beta of 0.86. HomeTrust Bancshares has a 52-week low of $23.55 and a 52-week high of $38.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.11.

HomeTrust Bancshares (NASDAQ:HTBI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.08. HomeTrust Bancshares had a net margin of 18.57% and a return on equity of 10.43%. As a group, equities analysts expect that HomeTrust Bancshares will post 3.02 EPS for the current year.

HomeTrust Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 13th were issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 13th. HomeTrust Bancshares’s payout ratio is 15.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HomeTrust Bancshares

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in HomeTrust Bancshares by 20.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 95,559 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,257,000 after purchasing an additional 15,916 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in HomeTrust Bancshares by 32.9% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 58,609 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,997,000 after purchasing an additional 14,524 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in HomeTrust Bancshares by 44.3% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 359,138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,239,000 after purchasing an additional 110,180 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in HomeTrust Bancshares by 8.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 15,871 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $542,000 after purchasing an additional 1,281 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of HomeTrust Bancshares by 84.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 159,663 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,441,000 after buying an additional 73,013 shares in the last quarter. 60.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About HomeTrust Bancshares

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.