Jupiter Topco LLC Buys New Position in Home BancShares, Inc. $HOMB

Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new position in shares of Home BancShares, Inc. (NYSE:HOMB) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 81,548 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,329,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Millennium Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Home BancShares in the 4th quarter worth $1,450,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Home BancShares by 14.5% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 886,006 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $23,860,000 after purchasing an additional 111,888 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Home BancShares during the fourth quarter valued at about $66,673,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new position in shares of Home BancShares during the second quarter valued at about $4,628,000. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in Home BancShares by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,588,267 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $155,242,000 after purchasing an additional 238,548 shares during the last quarter. 67.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO John Stephen Tipton sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.59, for a total transaction of $379,080.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 76,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,410,569.72. This represents a 13.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 6.39% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on HOMB shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Home BancShares from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $32.00 target price (up from $29.00) on shares of Home BancShares in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $31.00 target price (up from $30.00) on shares of Home BancShares in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Stephens increased their price target on Home BancShares from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Benchmark initiated coverage on Home BancShares in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Home BancShares currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.83.

Home BancShares Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of HOMB stock opened at $29.69 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $30.08 and a 200-day moving average of $28.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Home BancShares, Inc. has a 12-month low of $25.50 and a 12-month high of $31.70. The firm has a market cap of $5.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.27 and a beta of 0.67.

Home BancShares (NYSE:HOMB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.02. Home BancShares had a net margin of 32.10% and a return on equity of 11.12%. The company had revenue of $295.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $288.70 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.58 EPS. Home BancShares’s revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Home BancShares, Inc. will post 2.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Home BancShares Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th were paid a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 12th. This is a boost from Home BancShares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Home BancShares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.02%.

Home BancShares 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.