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The following are today's upgrades for Validea's Small-Cap Growth Investor model based on the published strategy of Motley Fool. This strategy looks for small cap growth stocks with solid fundamentals and strong price performance.

HOMETRUST BANCSHARES INC (HTBI) is a small-cap value stock in the Money Center Banks industry. The rating according to our strategy based on Motley Fool changed from 49% to 76% based on the firm’s underlying fundamentals and the stock’s valuation. A score of 80% or above typically indicates that the strategy has some interest in the stock and a score above 90% typically indicates strong interest.

Company Description: HomeTrust Bancshares, Inc. is the holding company for HomeTrust Bank (the Bank). The Bank is a North Carolina state chartered, community-focused financial institution. The Bank provides value-added relationship banking with over 30 locations, as well as online/mobile channels. The Bank's principal business consists of attracting deposits from the general public and investing those funds, along with borrowed funds, in commercial real estate loans, construction and development loans, commercial and industrial loans, equipment finance leases, municipal leases, loans secured by first and second mortgages on one-to-four family residences, including home equity loans, and other consumer loans. In addition, it invests in debt securities issued by United States Government agencies and GSEs, municipal bonds, corporate bonds, commercial paper and certificates of deposit insured by the FDIC. It offers a variety of deposit accounts for individuals, businesses and nonprofit organizations.

The following table summarizes whether the stock meets each of this strategy's tests. Not all criteria in the below table receive equal weighting or are independent, but the table provides a brief overview of the strong and weak points of the security in the context of the strategy's criteria.

Detailed Analysis of HOMETRUST BANCSHARES INC

TRIUMPH FINANCIAL INC (TFIN) is a small-cap growth stock in the Money Center Banks industry. The rating according to our strategy based on Motley Fool changed from 73% to 80% based on the firm’s underlying fundamentals and the stock’s valuation. A score of 80% or above typically indicates that the strategy has some interest in the stock and a score above 90% typically indicates strong interest.

Company Description: Triumph Financial, Inc. is a financial holding company. The Company's segments include Banking, Factoring and Payments. The Banking segment includes the operations of TBK Bank, which offers products and services that are focused on serving the local communities in which it operates and creating full banking relationships with both personal and commercial clients. TBK Bank operates retail branch networks in three geographic markets, including a mid-western division, a western division, and a mountain division. Its traditional banking offerings include a full suite of lending and deposit products and services. The Factoring segment includes the operations of Triumph Financial Services, which offers factoring services to its customers across a variety of industries with a focus on transportation factoring. The Payments segment includes the operations of TBK Bank's TriumphPay division, which is the payments network presentment, audit, and payment of over-the-road trucking invoices.

The following table summarizes whether the stock meets each of this strategy's tests. Not all criteria in the below table receive equal weighting or are independent, but the table provides a brief overview of the strong and weak points of the security in the context of the strategy's criteria.

Detailed Analysis of TRIUMPH FINANCIAL INC

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About Validea: Validea is aninvestment researchservice that follows the published strategies of investment legends. Validea offers both stock analysis and model portfolios based on gurus who have outperformed the market over the long-term, including Warren Buffett, Benjamin Graham, Peter Lynch and Martin Zweig. For more information about Validea, click here

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