HomeTrust Bancshares (NASDAQ:HTBI – Get Rating) and Provident Bancorp (NASDAQ:PVBC – Get Rating) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, earnings, valuation, risk, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for HomeTrust Bancshares and Provident Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.
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HomeTrust Bancshares alerts:
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score |
| HomeTrust Bancshares | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2.33 |
| Provident Bancorp | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3.00 |
HomeTrust Bancshares presently has a consensus price target of $27.33, indicating a potential upside of 20.20%. Provident Bancorp has a consensus price target of $18.00, indicating a potential upside of 26.32%. Given Provident Bancorp's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Provident Bancorp is more favorable than HomeTrust Bancshares.
Profitability
This table compares HomeTrust Bancshares and Provident Bancorp's net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets |
| HomeTrust Bancshares | 22.96% | 9.01% | 1.01% |
| Provident Bancorp | 25.77% | N/A | N/A |
Institutional & Insider Ownership
59.3% of HomeTrust Bancshares shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 43.4% of Provident Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 6.6% of HomeTrust Bancshares shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 8.5% of Provident Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Dividends
HomeTrust Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $0.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Provident Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. HomeTrust Bancshares pays out 16.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Provident Bancorp pays out 13.8% 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. HomeTrust Bancshares has raised its dividend for 3 consecutive years and Provident Bancorp has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years. HomeTrust Bancshares is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares HomeTrust Bancshares and Provident Bancorp's top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio |
| HomeTrust Bancshares | $155.31 million | 2.29 | $35.34 million | $2.23 | 10.20 |
| Provident Bancorp | $69.97 million | 3.61 | $16.14 million | $1.16 | 12.28 |
HomeTrust Bancshares has higher revenue and earnings than Provident Bancorp. HomeTrust Bancshares is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Provident Bancorp, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Risk and Volatility
HomeTrust Bancshares has a beta of 0.6, meaning that its share price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Provident Bancorp has a beta of 0.92, meaning that its share price is 8% less volatile than the S&P 500.
About HomeTrust Bancshares
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HomeTrust Bancshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for HomeTrust Bank that provides a range of retail and commercial banking products and services. Its deposit products include savings, money market, and demand accounts, as well as certificates of deposit for individuals, businesses, and nonprofit organizations. The company's loan portfolio comprises retail consumer loans, such as one-to-four-family real estate lending, home equity lines of credit, construction and land/lots, indirect auto finance, and consumer lending; and commercial loans that include commercial real estate, construction and development, and commercial and industrial loans. It also provides small business administration loans, equipment finance leases, indirect automobile loans, and municipal leases; and cash management and online/mobile banking services. As of June 30, 2021, the company operated 41 offices in North Carolina, Upstate South Carolina, East Tennessee, and Southwest Virginia. HomeTrust Bancshares, Inc. was founded in 1926 and is headquartered in Asheville, North Carolina.
About Provident Bancorp
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Provident Bancorp, Inc. is a Maryland corporation that was formed in 2019 to be the successor corporation to Provident Bancorp, Inc., a Massachusetts corporation, and the holding company for The Provident Bank. The Provident Bank, a subsidiary of Provident Bancorp, Inc. is an innovative, commercial bank that finds solutions for its business and private clients.
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