Lazard Asset Management LLC Buys New Shares in HomeTrust Bancshares, Inc. $HTB

Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of HomeTrust Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:HTB) in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 35,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,503,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CrossGen Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in HomeTrust Bancshares during the 1st quarter worth about $91,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of HomeTrust Bancshares during the first quarter worth about $105,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in shares of HomeTrust Bancshares during the first quarter worth about $187,000. Sentinel Trust Co. LBA purchased a new stake in shares of HomeTrust Bancshares during the first quarter worth approximately $267,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers acquired a new stake in HomeTrust Bancshares in the first quarter valued at approximately $288,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.94% of the company’s stock.

HomeTrust Bancshares Trading Up 1.0%

NYSE:HTB opened at $51.79 on Wednesday. HomeTrust Bancshares, Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.35 and a 1 year high of $52.50. The stock has a market cap of $870.56 million, a P/E ratio of 13.59 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.08. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.65.

HomeTrust Bancshares (NYSE:HTB) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $54.54 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $53.22 million. HomeTrust Bancshares had a return on equity of 10.90% and a net margin of 22.50%. As a group, analysts anticipate that HomeTrust Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HomeTrust Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 13th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 13th. HomeTrust Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other HomeTrust Bancshares news, EVP Kristin Y. Powell sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.78, for a total transaction of $46,780.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 21,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,010,214.10. This trade represents a 4.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Laura C. Kendall sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.13, for a total transaction of $511,300.00. Following the sale, the director owned 24,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,238,828.77. This represents a 29.21% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,904 shares of company stock valued at $738,328. 11.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on HTB shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of HomeTrust Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of HomeTrust Bancshares from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Hovde Group raised their price objective on shares of HomeTrust Bancshares from $46.50 to $47.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, HomeTrust Bancshares presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.00.

HomeTrust Bancshares Profile

HomeTrust Bancshares, Inc is the bank holding company for HomeTrust Bank, a regional community bank that provides a range of commercial and consumer banking services. Through its subsidiary bank, the company offers traditional deposit and lending products, including checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, residential mortgages, home equity lending, and business loans. HomeTrust also delivers treasury management and payment services for small and midsize businesses, along with digital banking tools to support day-to-day account access and payments.

The company’s product set extends beyond core banking to include wealth management and trust services, commercial real estate financing, and specialized lending for agriculture and construction where relevant to local markets.