Home BancShares, Inc. (NYSE:HOMB) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Home BancShares, Inc. (NYSE:HOMB) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $32.60.

Several analysts recently weighed in on HOMB shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Home BancShares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, January 31st. Zacks Research raised Home BancShares from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 19th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $35.00 price objective (up previously from $34.00) on shares of Home BancShares in a report on Friday, January 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $31.00 target price on Home BancShares in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Home BancShares in a research report on Monday, December 29th.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Donna Townsell sold 5,563 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.38, for a total transaction of $157,877.94. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 218,460 shares in the company, valued at $6,199,894.80. This represents a 2.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Home BancShares

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HOMB. Vest Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Home BancShares by 82.9% during the 3rd quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 134,033 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,793,000 after acquiring an additional 60,753 shares in the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Home BancShares by 92.6% during the third quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 216,728 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,133,000 after purchasing an additional 104,212 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Home BancShares by 14.7% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,876,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $138,772,000 after purchasing an additional 626,655 shares during the period. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC purchased a new position in Home BancShares in the 2nd quarter worth about $5,825,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd increased its stake in Home BancShares by 490.2% in the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 77,379 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,190,000 after purchasing an additional 64,269 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.31% of the company’s stock.

Home BancShares Stock Up 0.7%

Home BancShares stock opened at $29.41 on Friday. Home BancShares has a 1-year low of $24.22 and a 1-year high of $30.83. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $28.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.20 and a beta of 0.80.

Home BancShares (NYSE:HOMB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 14th. The financial services provider reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.60. The company had revenue of $282.09 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $272.48 million. Home BancShares had a return on equity of 11.16% and a net margin of 32.18%.Home BancShares’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.50 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Home BancShares will post 2.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home BancShares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 11th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. Home BancShares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.85%.

About Home BancShares

Home BancShares, Inc is a bank holding company based in Conway, Arkansas, operating through its primary subsidiary, Home Bank, National Association. Founded in March 1999, the company provides a comprehensive suite of banking services to individuals, small and middle-market businesses, and public entities. These services encompass deposit accounts, consumer and commercial lending, mortgage origination and servicing, treasury management, and wealth management solutions.

The company’s core products include checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, and money market accounts, as well as a variety of loan offerings such as commercial real estate financing, equipment loans, agricultural lending, and residential mortgages.