Home BancShares (NYSE:HOMB) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Home BancShares (NYSE:HOMB) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Saturday.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on HOMB. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $31.00 price target on shares of Home BancShares in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Home BancShares in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $35.00 target price (up from $34.00) on shares of Home BancShares in a report on Friday, January 16th. Zacks Research raised shares of Home BancShares from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 19th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their target price on Home BancShares from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Home BancShares currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.40.

Home BancShares Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of HOMB opened at $26.97 on Friday. Home BancShares has a fifty-two week low of $24.22 and a fifty-two week high of $30.83. The business has a 50-day moving average of $28.72 and a 200 day moving average of $28.41. The firm has a market cap of $5.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.19 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91.

Home BancShares (NYSE:HOMB) last released 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 business had revenue of $269.25 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $272.48 million. Home BancShares had a net margin of 32.18% and a return on equity of 11.16%. The company’s revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.50 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Home BancShares will post 2.19 EPS for the current year.

Home BancShares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 11th were given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 11th. Home BancShares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Donna Townsell sold 5,563 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,199,894.80. This represents a 2.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director John W. Allison II sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.19, for a total transaction of $140,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 651,995 shares in the company, valued at $18,379,739.05. This represents a 0.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 6.39% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HOMB. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Home BancShares in the fourth quarter worth $66,673,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Home BancShares by 37.3% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,060,888 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $85,031,000 after buying an additional 830,823 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in 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 worth $138,772,000 after acquiring an additional 626,655 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Home BancShares by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,423,768 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $567,372,000 after acquiring an additional 621,751 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Home BancShares by 82.9% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,120,706 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,716,000 after acquiring an additional 508,127 shares in the last quarter. 67.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.