Zacks Research Upgrades Home BancShares (NYSE:HOMB) to “Strong-Buy”

Home BancShares (NYSE:HOMB) was upgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Home BancShares in a report on Monday, December 29th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $35.00 target price (up previously from $34.00) on shares of Home BancShares in a research note on Friday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Home BancShares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $31.00 price objective on Home BancShares in a research report on Monday, January 12th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.60.

Home BancShares Stock Down 1.5%

NYSE HOMB opened at $28.52 on Monday. Home BancShares has a 1-year low of $24.22 and a 1-year high of $31.27. The company has a market capitalization of $5.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.83 and a beta of 0.78. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $28.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Home BancShares (NYSE:HOMB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 14th. The financial services provider reported $0.60 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 $282.09 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $272.48 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.50 EPS. Home BancShares’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Home BancShares will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HOMB. Vest Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Home BancShares by 22.5% in the second quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 73,280 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,086,000 after acquiring an additional 13,473 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position 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 period. Gutierrez Wealth Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Home BancShares by 66.4% in the 2nd quarter. Gutierrez Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 34,147 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $972,000 after purchasing an additional 13,632 shares during the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Home BancShares during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,825,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC bought a new stake in shares of Home BancShares during the second quarter worth approximately $2,325,000. 67.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.