HomeTrust Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:HTB) Short Interest Update

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

Insider Buying and Selling at HomeTrust Bancshares

In related news, Director Laura Kendall sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.13, for a total transaction of $511,300.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 24,229 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,238,828.77. The trade was a 29.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 11.02% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HomeTrust Bancshares

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HTB. Engineers Gate Manager LP acquired a new stake in HomeTrust Bancshares during the second quarter worth about $370,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new stake in shares of HomeTrust Bancshares during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $400,000. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of HomeTrust Bancshares by 1,131.4% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 10,676 shares of the company’s stock worth $533,000 after acquiring an additional 9,809 shares during the period. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of HomeTrust Bancshares by 12.9% during the 2nd quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC now owns 13,925 shares of the company’s stock worth $695,000 after acquiring an additional 1,589 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of HomeTrust Bancshares during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $293,000. Institutional investors own 60.94% of the company’s stock.

HomeTrust Bancshares Stock Performance

NYSE HTB traded down $0.23 on Monday, reaching $48.31. The stock had a trading volume of 273,088 shares, compared to its average volume of 112,301. 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 company has a market cap of $806.34 million, a P/E ratio of 12.68 and a beta of 0.79. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $48.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $46.55. HomeTrust Bancshares has a 1-year low of $38.30 and a 1-year high of $52.50.

HomeTrust Bancshares (NYSE:HTB) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $54.54 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $53.22 million. HomeTrust Bancshares had a return on equity of 10.88% and a net margin of 22.50%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that HomeTrust Bancshares will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

HomeTrust Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 13th were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 13th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. HomeTrust Bancshares’s payout ratio is 15.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on HTB shares. Stephens upped their target price 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. Zacks Research downgraded HomeTrust Bancshares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating on shares of HomeTrust Bancshares in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised HomeTrust Bancshares from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.00.

About HomeTrust Bancshares

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.