Home BancShares, Inc. (NYSE:HOMB) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Home BancShares, Inc. (NYSE:HOMB) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $32.8333.

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on HOMB shares. Piper Sandler set a $34.00 price objective on Home BancShares and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Wall Street Zen raised Home BancShares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Home BancShares from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Home BancShares in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $32.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Home BancShares in a report on Saturday.

Home BancShares Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:HOMB opened at $27.38 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $28.65 and its 200 day moving average is $28.40. Home BancShares has a 1 year low of $24.22 and a 1 year high of $32.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.80 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

Home BancShares (NYSE:HOMB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $277.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $269.96 million. Home BancShares had a return on equity of 10.94% and a net margin of 31.20%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.50 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Home BancShares will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home BancShares Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. This is a boost from Home BancShares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 12th. Home BancShares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO John W. Allison sold 110,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.02, for a total transaction of $3,302,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 5,540,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $166,334,095.52. This trade represents a 1.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Home BancShares

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HOMB. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Home BancShares during the second quarter worth about $64,545,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Home BancShares during the first quarter worth about $41,431,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Home BancShares by 14.7% during the second 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 period. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Home BancShares during the second quarter worth about $12,931,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Home BancShares by 87.6% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 612,579 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $17,434,000 after acquiring an additional 286,073 shares during the period. 67.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Home BancShares

Home Bancshares, Inc (Conway, AR) operates as the bank holding company for Centennial Bank that provides commercial and retail banking, and related financial services to businesses, real estate developers and investors, individuals, and municipalities. Its deposit products include checking, savings, and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposit.