Hennessy Advisors Inc. Grows Stake in HomeTrust Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTBI)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of HomeTrust Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTBI) by 10.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 105,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares during the quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. owned 0.60% of HomeTrust Bancshares worth $3,153,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of HomeTrust Bancshares by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 867,557 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $23,719,000 after buying an additional 5,364 shares during the last quarter. AMG National Trust Bank raised its position in HomeTrust Bancshares by 237.3% during the fourth quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 239,469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,447,000 after acquiring an additional 168,469 shares during the last quarter. EJF Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of HomeTrust Bancshares by 185.6% in the first quarter. EJF Capital LLC now owns 116,624 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,188,000 after purchasing an additional 75,789 shares in the last quarter. BHZ Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of HomeTrust Bancshares by 43.9% in the fourth quarter. BHZ Capital Management LP now owns 59,477 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,601,000 after purchasing an additional 18,156 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of HomeTrust Bancshares by 8.2% in the first quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 42,438 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,160,000 after purchasing an additional 3,210 shares during the last quarter. 60.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on HomeTrust Bancshares from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Hovde Group initiated coverage on HomeTrust Bancshares in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $42.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded HomeTrust Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $34.50.

HomeTrust Bancshares Price Performance

HTBI stock opened at $33.76 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $588.94 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.79 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. HomeTrust Bancshares, Inc. has a 52-week low of $19.37 and a 52-week high of $36.39. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $31.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.26.

HomeTrust Bancshares (NASDAQ:HTBI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73. HomeTrust Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.18% and a net margin of 19.42%. The firm had revenue of $73.53 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.06 million.

HomeTrust Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.30%. HomeTrust Bancshares’s payout ratio is 12.75%.

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.