HomeTrust Bancshares (NASDAQ:HTBI) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

HomeTrust Bancshares (NASDAQ:HTBI) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Thursday.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of HomeTrust Bancshares from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of HomeTrust Bancshares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $32.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $30.00.

HomeTrust Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of HTBI traded up $0.12 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $23.95. 34,793 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 32,115. HomeTrust Bancshares has a 1-year low of $18.02 and a 1-year high of $30.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $417.69 million, a PE ratio of 8.06 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.15. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $25.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.66.

HomeTrust Bancshares (NASDAQ:HTBI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.07. HomeTrust Bancshares had a net margin of 18.77% and a return on equity of 11.41%. The company had revenue of $50.17 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $48.66 million.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HomeTrust Bancshares

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in HomeTrust Bancshares by 16.7% during the 3rd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 1,336,575 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,537,000 after buying an additional 191,524 shares during the period. AMG National Trust Bank increased its holdings in shares of HomeTrust Bancshares by 237.3% in the 4th quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 239,469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,447,000 after purchasing an additional 168,469 shares during the period. Citadel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of HomeTrust Bancshares by 394.9% in the 3rd quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 90,987 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,011,000 after purchasing an additional 72,601 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in shares of HomeTrust Bancshares by 121.8% in the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 123,754 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,094,000 after purchasing an additional 67,965 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of HomeTrust Bancshares by 31.4% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 194,921 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,872,000 after purchasing an additional 46,592 shares during the period. 60.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.