Robert James, a director at
HomeTrust Bancshares (HTBI), recently added 2,500 shares. The buy increased his holdings by nearly 22 percent, and came to a total cost of $57,025.
That’s the first insider buy at the company since mid-2020. Otherwise, insiders have been big sellers of shares over the past two years, with some major sales right as the stock market started to peak nearly a year ago.
Overall, company insiders own 10.1 percent of the company.
The regional bank, based out of fast-growing North Carolina, is down about 16 percent in the past year, performing slightly worse than the S&P 500 index.
Revenue growth has likewise slid by about 7 percent in the same timeframe. However, the bank trades at 10 times current earnings and just under 10 times forward earnings.
Action to take: Shares trade at a slight discount to their book value now, and the company’s small overall market cap would make it attractive for a larger bank to buy at some point.
HomeTrust also pays a growing dividend, with a 1.6 percent starting yield. These points all add up to a stock worth buying for the long run at today’s prices.
For traders, the March 2023 $22.50 calls, going for about $3.30, are nearly $1.00 in-the-money. On a move higher in shares, traders could make mid-double-digit returns.
Disclosure: The author of this article has no position in the company mentioned here, but may trade after the next 72 hours. The author receives no compensation from any of the companies mentioned in this article.