Citigroup Inc. Sells 68,124 Shares of Home BancShares, Inc. $HOMB

Citigroup Inc. decreased its position in shares of Home BancShares, Inc. (NYSE:HOMB) by 33.2% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 136,843 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 68,124 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in Home BancShares were worth $3,873,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Home BancShares by 14.7% during 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 last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Home BancShares by 0.6% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,572,656 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $130,151,000 after purchasing an additional 26,511 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Home BancShares during the second quarter valued at $64,545,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Home BancShares by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,769,612 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $50,363,000 after buying an additional 25,578 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its position in Home BancShares by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 1,245,363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,443,000 after buying an additional 21,583 shares during the last quarter. 67.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on HOMB. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price target on shares of Home BancShares from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Home BancShares in a report on Monday, December 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $31.00 target price on shares of Home BancShares in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $35.00 price target (up from $34.00) on shares of Home BancShares in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Home BancShares from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Home BancShares has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director John W. Allison II sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.19, for a total value of $140,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 651,995 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,379,739.05. This represents a 0.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Donna Townsell sold 5,563 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the director owned 218,460 shares in the company, valued at $6,199,894.80. The trade was a 2.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Home BancShares Trading Up 0.8%

NYSE:HOMB opened at $28.06 on Thursday. Home BancShares, Inc. has a one year low of $24.22 and a one year high of $30.83. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $28.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.64 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

Home BancShares (NYSE:HOMB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 14th. The financial services provider reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.60. Home BancShares had a return on equity of 11.16% and a net margin of 32.18%.The business had revenue of $269.25 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $272.48 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.50 earnings per share. Home BancShares’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Home BancShares, Inc. will post 2.19 EPS for the current year.

Home BancShares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 11th were issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 11th. Home BancShares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.85%.

Home BancShares Company Profile

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.