HomeTrust Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTBI) Short Interest Update

HomeTrust Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTBI – Get Rating) saw a significant increase in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 111,300 shares, an increase of 16.2% from the January 31st total of 95,800 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 48,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days. Approximately 0.9% of the company’s shares are sold short.

HomeTrust Bancshares Trading Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ:HTBI opened at $28.88 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $26.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.68. HomeTrust Bancshares has a 52 week low of $21.55 and a 52 week high of $31.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $458.61 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.03 and a beta of 0.65.

HomeTrust Bancshares (NASDAQ:HTBI – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.16. HomeTrust Bancshares had a net margin of 21.69% and a return on equity of 9.28%. The company had revenue of $46.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $42.00 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that HomeTrust Bancshares will post 3.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HomeTrust Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, February 16th were issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 15th. HomeTrust Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of HomeTrust Bancshares from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $27.00 to $32.00 in a report on Tuesday. Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded shares of HomeTrust Bancshares from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 21st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of HomeTrust Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, HomeTrust Bancshares has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP R. Parrish Little sold 1,026 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.03, for a total value of $30,810.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $370,390.02. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other HomeTrust Bancshares news, Chairman Dana L. Stonestreet sold 22,091 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.61, for a total value of $654,114.51. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 244,291 shares in the company, valued at $7,233,456.51. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP R. Parrish Little sold 1,026 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.03, for a total transaction of $30,810.78. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 12,334 shares in the company, valued at approximately $370,390.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 130,750 shares of company stock valued at $3,535,781 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 6.95% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HomeTrust Bancshares

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HTBI. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in HomeTrust Bancshares by 25.1% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 29,008 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $857,000 after purchasing an additional 5,820 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its position in HomeTrust Bancshares by 57.0% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 8,528 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $252,000 after acquiring an additional 3,096 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its position in HomeTrust Bancshares by 136.0% in the first quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 51,837 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,531,000 after acquiring an additional 29,873 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in HomeTrust Bancshares by 1.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 729,344 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,538,000 after acquiring an additional 9,910 shares during the period. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in HomeTrust Bancshares by 128.4% in the first quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,346 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 1,319 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.64% of the company’s stock.

About HomeTrust Bancshares

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HomeTrust Bancshares, Inc operates as a bank holding company, which engages in the provision of deposit accounts for individuals, businesses, and nonprofit organizations for HomeTrust Bank. It is involved in attracting deposits, including savings money market, demand accounts, and certificates of deposit from the general public.