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

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of HomeTrust Bancshares (NASDAQ:HTBI) in a research report report published on Saturday morning. The firm issued a hold rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on 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

Shares of HTBI opened at $36.53 on Friday. HomeTrust Bancshares has a twelve month low of $23.55 and a twelve month high of $38.99. The company has a market capitalization of $640.28 million, a P/E ratio of 11.41 and a beta of 0.86. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $36.74 and a 200 day moving average of $35.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

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

HomeTrust Bancshares Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Trading of HomeTrust Bancshares

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in HomeTrust Bancshares by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 372,727 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,553,000 after purchasing an additional 13,589 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its holdings in shares of HomeTrust Bancshares by 16.3% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 37,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,276,000 after buying an additional 5,300 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its position in HomeTrust Bancshares by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 35,140 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,184,000 after buying an additional 3,210 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its position in HomeTrust Bancshares by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 58,976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,986,000 after buying an additional 7,200 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in HomeTrust Bancshares by 217.0% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 47,921 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,614,000 after buying an additional 32,805 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.94% of the company’s stock.

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.