HomeTrust Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTBI) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

HomeTrust Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTBI) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 89,300 shares, an increase of 5.8% from the September 15th total of 84,400 shares. Currently, 0.6% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 45,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HTBI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of HomeTrust Bancshares from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Hovde Group began coverage on shares of HomeTrust Bancshares in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $42.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of HomeTrust Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.50.

Institutional Trading of HomeTrust Bancshares

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Creative Planning bought a new stake in HomeTrust Bancshares in the third quarter worth $266,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of HomeTrust Bancshares during the third quarter worth $326,000. AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of HomeTrust Bancshares during the second quarter worth $201,000. Huber Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of HomeTrust Bancshares by 9.1% during the second quarter. Huber Capital Management LLC now owns 17,742 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $533,000 after purchasing an additional 1,487 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Salzhauer Michael lifted its position in shares of HomeTrust Bancshares by 9.8% during the second quarter. Salzhauer Michael now owns 25,374 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $762,000 after purchasing an additional 2,260 shares during the last quarter. 60.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

HomeTrust Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of HTBI stock traded down $0.31 on Thursday, reaching $34.61. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,800 shares, compared to its average volume of 38,474. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $34.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.61. HomeTrust Bancshares has a 1 year low of $19.37 and a 1 year high of $36.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company has a market capitalization of $603.77 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.12 and a beta of 0.81.

HomeTrust Bancshares (NASDAQ:HTBI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73. HomeTrust Bancshares had a net margin of 19.42% and a return on equity of 11.04%. The firm had revenue of $73.53 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.06 million. Analysts forecast that HomeTrust Bancshares will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HomeTrust Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. HomeTrust Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.75%.

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.