HomeTrust Bancshares (NYSE:HTB – Get Free Report) and Eagle Financial Services (NASDAQ:EFSI – Get Free Report) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, risk, valuation, dividends and analyst recommendations.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for HomeTrust Bancshares and Eagle Financial Services, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| HomeTrust Bancshares | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2.67 |
| Eagle Financial Services | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2.67 |
HomeTrust Bancshares currently has a consensus target price of $52.00, indicating a potential upside of 10.80%. Eagle Financial Services has a consensus target price of $43.75, indicating a potential downside of 5.00%. Given HomeTrust Bancshares’ higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe HomeTrust Bancshares is more favorable than Eagle Financial Services.
Dividends
HomeTrust Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.3%. Eagle Financial Services pays an annual dividend of $1.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. HomeTrust Bancshares pays out 15.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Eagle Financial Services pays out 37.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Eagle Financial Services has raised its dividend for 14 consecutive years. Eagle Financial Services is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
60.9% of HomeTrust Bancshares shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.3% of Eagle Financial Services shares are held by institutional investors. 11.0% of HomeTrust Bancshares shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 7.1% of Eagle Financial Services shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares HomeTrust Bancshares and Eagle Financial Services”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| HomeTrust Bancshares | $216.45 million | 3.43 | $64.36 million | $3.97 | 11.82 |
| Eagle Financial Services | $105.89 million | 2.35 | $8.21 million | $3.30 | 13.96 |
HomeTrust Bancshares has higher revenue and earnings than Eagle Financial Services. HomeTrust Bancshares is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Eagle Financial Services, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Volatility and Risk
HomeTrust Bancshares has a beta of 0.79, meaning that its stock price is 21% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Eagle Financial Services has a beta of 0.21, meaning that its stock price is 79% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares HomeTrust Bancshares and Eagle Financial Services’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| HomeTrust Bancshares | 23.19% | 11.12% | 1.49% |
| Eagle Financial Services | 14.55% | 7.98% | 0.82% |
Summary
HomeTrust Bancshares beats Eagle Financial Services on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
About HomeTrust Bancshares
HomeTrust Bancshares is the bank holding company for HomeTrust Bank, a community bank headquartered in Asheville, North Carolina. The bank traces its roots to 1926, when it was established to serve the Asheville area. HomeTrust Bank provides banking services to individuals and businesses, including deposit accounts, commercial and consumer loans, residential mortgage lending, and cash-management services. The bank serves customers through branches and other banking channels in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.
About Eagle Financial Services
Eagle Financial Services, Inc. is a bank holding company whose principal subsidiary is the Bank of Clarke County. The bank traces its history to 1881 and provides community banking services to individuals, families and businesses. Its offerings include deposit accounts, personal and commercial loans, mortgages, and online and mobile banking services. The company serves communities in Northern Virginia and the Shenandoah Valley, including areas around Clarke and Frederick counties.
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