HomeTrust Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:HTB) Stock Rated “Moderate Buy” by Wall Street Analysts

Shares of HomeTrust Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:HTB) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $52.00.

HTB has been the subject of several recent research reports. Raymond James Financial raised shares of HomeTrust Bancshares to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Stephens boosted their target price on HomeTrust Bancshares from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of HomeTrust Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of HomeTrust Bancshares in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Zacks Research cut HomeTrust Bancshares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th.

HomeTrust Bancshares Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE:HTB opened at $47.40 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $749.85 million, a PE ratio of 11.97 and a beta of 0.79. HomeTrust Bancshares has a fifty-two week low of $39.06 and a fifty-two week high of $52.50. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $46.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.23.

HomeTrust Bancshares (NYSE:HTB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The company reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.23. HomeTrust Bancshares had a net margin of 23.19% and a return on equity of 11.12%. The company had revenue of $55.95 million during the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that HomeTrust Bancshares will post 3.90 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HomeTrust Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 12th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 12th. HomeTrust Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.11%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HomeTrust Bancshares

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of HomeTrust Bancshares during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $83,715,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of HomeTrust Bancshares in the first quarter worth about $35,667,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in HomeTrust Bancshares during the 1st quarter worth $19,884,000. Boston Partners increased its stake in shares of HomeTrust Bancshares by 7,789.6% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 379,411 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,404,000 after buying an additional 374,602 shares during the period. Finally, Rosenthal Henry Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of HomeTrust Bancshares by 84.9% in the 3rd quarter. Rosenthal Henry Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 92,547 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,236,000 after buying an additional 42,500 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.94% of the company’s stock.

HomeTrust Bancshares Company Profile

HomeTrust Bancshares is the bank holding company for HomeTrust Bank, a community bank headquartered in Asheville, North Carolina. The bank traces its roots to 1926, when it was established to serve the Asheville area. HomeTrust Bank provides banking services to individuals and businesses, including deposit accounts, commercial and consumer loans, residential mortgage lending, and cash-management services. The bank serves customers through branches and other banking channels in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.