Home BancShares (NYSE:HOMB) Cut to Hold at Zacks Research

Zacks Research cut shares of Home BancShares (NYSE:HOMB) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $31.00 target price on shares of Home BancShares in a report on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Home BancShares in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price objective on Home BancShares from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $35.00 price objective (up from $34.00) on shares of Home BancShares in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Home BancShares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Home BancShares presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.40.

Home BancShares Stock Down 1.6%

HOMB stock opened at $26.00 on Monday. Home BancShares has a fifty-two week low of $24.22 and a fifty-two week high of $30.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.79 and a beta of 0.78. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $28.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.24.

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

Home BancShares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 11th were paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 11th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Home BancShares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Home BancShares

In other Home BancShares news, Director John W. Allison II sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director owned 651,995 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,379,739.05. The trade was a 0.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Donna Townsell sold 5,563 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the director owned 218,460 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,199,894.80. The trade was a 2.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 6.39% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Home BancShares

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in Home BancShares by 164.8% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,083 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 674 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Home BancShares during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Home BancShares by 110.6% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,327 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 697 shares during the last quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc lifted its stake in shares of Home BancShares by 76.7% in the 2nd quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc now owns 1,329 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 577 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Home BancShares during the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. 67.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.