HomeTrust Bancshares (NYSE:HTB) Reaches New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

HomeTrust Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:HTB) shares hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $52.21 and last traded at $51.9630, with a volume of 4623 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $51.19.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on HTB shares. Hovde Group lifted their price objective on HomeTrust Bancshares from $46.50 to $47.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Zacks Research raised HomeTrust Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded HomeTrust Bancshares from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.00.

HomeTrust Bancshares Stock Performance

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $48.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $45.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The firm has a market cap of $870.56 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.59 and a beta of 0.81.

HomeTrust Bancshares (NYSE:HTB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.05. HomeTrust Bancshares had a return on equity of 10.90% and a net margin of 22.50%.The firm had revenue of $54.54 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $53.22 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that HomeTrust Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HomeTrust Bancshares Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Laura C. Kendall sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.13, for a total transaction of $511,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 24,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,238,828.77. This represents a 29.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Hunter Westbrook sold 3,904 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.17, for a total value of $180,247.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 105,828 shares in the company, valued at $4,886,078.76. This trade represents a 3.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 14,904 shares of company stock worth $738,328 over the last three months. 11.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HomeTrust Bancshares

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of HomeTrust Bancshares during the 1st quarter worth about $1,125,000. California State Teachers Retirement System purchased a new stake in HomeTrust Bancshares during the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000. Royal Bank of Canada purchased a new stake in HomeTrust Bancshares during the 1st quarter worth approximately $153,000. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of HomeTrust Bancshares during the first quarter valued at approximately $3,255,000. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of HomeTrust Bancshares in the first quarter valued at approximately $467,000. 60.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.