Polaris Capital Management LLC Acquires New Position in HomeTrust Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTBI)

Polaris Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in HomeTrust Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTBI) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 120,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,069,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of HomeTrust Bancshares by 28.4% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,499 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $119,000 after acquiring an additional 774 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new position in HomeTrust Bancshares in the second quarter worth approximately $201,000. Princeton Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in HomeTrust Bancshares during the 3rd quarter worth $222,000. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in HomeTrust Bancshares during the third quarter worth about $257,000. Finally, Creative Planning bought a new position in shares of HomeTrust Bancshares during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $266,000. 60.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

HomeTrust Bancshares Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of HomeTrust Bancshares stock opened at $37.38 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $35.23 and its 200 day moving average is $34.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company has a market cap of $655.27 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.68 and a beta of 0.86. HomeTrust Bancshares, Inc. has a twelve month low of $23.55 and a twelve month high of $38.99.

HomeTrust Bancshares (NASDAQ:HTBI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.08. HomeTrust Bancshares had a net margin of 18.57% and a return on equity of 10.43%. Research analysts anticipate that HomeTrust Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.98 EPS for the current year.

HomeTrust Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 13th will be issued a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 13th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.28%. HomeTrust Bancshares’s payout ratio is currently 15.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on HomeTrust Bancshares from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Raymond James lowered shares of HomeTrust Bancshares from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th.

HomeTrust Bancshares 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, business, and nonprofit organizations.