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

HomeTrust Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTBI) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 95,400 shares, a growth of 5.8% from the August 15th total of 90,200 shares. Currently, 0.7% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 30,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.1 days.

Institutional Trading of HomeTrust Bancshares

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HTBI. Petiole USA ltd purchased a new stake in HomeTrust Bancshares in the fourth quarter worth $1,708,000. Huber Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in HomeTrust Bancshares by 68.8% in the first quarter. Huber Capital Management LLC now owns 49,391 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,215,000 after purchasing an additional 20,138 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of HomeTrust Bancshares during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of HomeTrust Bancshares by 29.5% in the 1st quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 37,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $910,000 after purchasing an additional 8,439 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC bought a new position in HomeTrust Bancshares during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $955,000. 54.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on HTBI. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on HomeTrust Bancshares from $25.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. TheStreet downgraded HomeTrust Bancshares from a “b” rating to a “c” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 12th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of HomeTrust Bancshares in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock.

HomeTrust Bancshares Trading Down 1.2 %

HTBI stock traded down $0.28 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $22.22. The company had a trading volume of 26,955 shares, compared to its average volume of 45,404. The stock has a market cap of $385.96 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.04 and a beta of 0.66. HomeTrust Bancshares has a 52 week low of $18.02 and a 52 week high of $30.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $23.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.75.

HomeTrust Bancshares (NASDAQ:HTBI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90. The company had revenue of $50.78 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $52.33 million. HomeTrust Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.47% and a net margin of 20.44%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that HomeTrust Bancshares will post 2.91 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, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 17th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 16th. HomeTrust Bancshares’s payout ratio is 14.29%.

HomeTrust Bancshares Company Profile

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, businesses, and nonprofit organizations.