Head-To-Head Review: HomeTrust Bancshares (NASDAQ:HTBI) versus Fidelity Federal Bancorp (OTCMKTS:FDLB)

HomeTrust Bancshares (NASDAQ:HTBI) and Fidelity Federal Bancorp (OTCMKTS:FDLB) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, risk, earnings, valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends and institutional ownership.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for HomeTrust Bancshares and Fidelity Federal Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
HomeTrust Bancshares	0	0	3	0	3.00
Fidelity Federal Bancorp	0	0	0	0	N/A

HomeTrust Bancshares currently has a consensus target price of $30.00, suggesting a potential downside of 0.60%. Given HomeTrust Bancshares’ higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe HomeTrust Bancshares is more favorable than Fidelity Federal Bancorp.

Profitability

This table compares HomeTrust Bancshares and Fidelity Federal Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
HomeTrust Bancshares	20.87%	11.86%	1.25%
Fidelity Federal Bancorp	N/A	N/A	N/A

Dividends

HomeTrust Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $0.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.5%. Fidelity Federal Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.01 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.0%. HomeTrust Bancshares pays out 12.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Risk and Volatility

HomeTrust Bancshares has a beta of 0.82, suggesting that its share price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Fidelity Federal Bancorp has a beta of 0.05, suggesting that its share price is 95% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares HomeTrust Bancshares and Fidelity Federal 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	$218.18 million	2.41	$44.19 million	$3.45	8.75
Fidelity Federal Bancorp	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

HomeTrust Bancshares has higher revenue and earnings than Fidelity Federal Bancorp.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

60.9% of HomeTrust Bancshares shares are held by institutional investors. 13.2% of HomeTrust Bancshares shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 72.2% of Fidelity Federal Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

HomeTrust Bancshares beats Fidelity Federal Bancorp on 9 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. Its 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. The company also provides small business administration loans, equipment finance leases, and municipal leases; and cash management and online/mobile banking services. In addition, it invests in debt securities issued by the United States government agencies and government-sponsored enterprises, municipal and corporate bonds, commercial paper, and certificates of deposit insured by the federal deposit insurance corporation. HomeTrust Bancshares, Inc. was founded in 1926 and is headquartered in Asheville, North Carolina.

About Fidelity Federal Bancorp

Fidelity Federal Bancorp operates as a bank holding company for United Fidelity Bank, Fsb, offers personal and business banking services. The company offers checking accounts, savings accounts, retirement accounts, health savings, personal line of credit, and commercial lending services. It also provides credit and debit cards; safe deposit boxes; and online and telephone banking services. Fidelity Federal Bancorp is based in Evansville, Indiana. Fidelity Federal Bancorp operates as a subsidiary of Pedcor Financial Bancorp.