HomeTrust Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTBI) Short Interest Down 16.7% in December

HomeTrust Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTBI - Get Free Report) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 39,500 shares, a decrease of 16.7% from the November 30th total of 47,400 shares. Currently, 0.3% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 45,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.9 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on HTBI. Raymond James downgraded HomeTrust Bancshares from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on HomeTrust Bancshares from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HomeTrust Bancshares

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in HTBI. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in HomeTrust Bancshares by 11.1% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 67,363 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,023,000 after buying an additional 6,723 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of HomeTrust Bancshares by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 92,272 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,771,000 after acquiring an additional 528 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in shares of HomeTrust Bancshares by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 22,647 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $680,000 after purchasing an additional 435 shares during the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of HomeTrust Bancshares by 8.1% in the 2nd quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 89,180 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,678,000 after purchasing an additional 6,710 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in HomeTrust Bancshares by 20.1% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 239,722 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,199,000 after purchasing an additional 40,201 shares during the last quarter. 60.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

HomeTrust Bancshares Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of HTBI traded down $0.51 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $33.86. 26,127 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 40,087. HomeTrust Bancshares has a 52 week low of $23.55 and a 52 week high of $38.99. The company has a market cap of $593.57 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.72 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $33.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

HomeTrust Bancshares (NASDAQ:HTBI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.80 by ($0.04). HomeTrust Bancshares had a net margin of 18.53% and a return on equity of 10.41%. The firm had revenue of $74.93 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $50.13 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that HomeTrust Bancshares will post 3.11 EPS for the current year.

HomeTrust Bancshares Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were given a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. This is a boost from HomeTrust Bancshares's previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. HomeTrust Bancshares's payout ratio is currently 15.19%.

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.