Brokerages Set Home BancShares, Inc. (NYSE:HOMB) Target Price at $31.40

Shares of Home BancShares, Inc. (NYSE:HOMB) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $31.40.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on HOMB shares. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Home BancShares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Home BancShares from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Home BancShares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, April 18th. Piper Sandler set a $33.00 price objective on shares of Home BancShares and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Stephens dropped their price objective on shares of Home BancShares from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 17th.

Home BancShares Stock Down 2.0%

HOMB stock opened at $26.23 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Home BancShares has a 1 year low of $25.67 and a 1 year high of $30.83. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.84. The firm has a market cap of $5.28 billion, a PE ratio of 10.79 and a beta of 0.69.

Home BancShares (NYSE:HOMB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.60. The business had revenue of $266.71 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $274.06 million. Home BancShares had a net margin of 32.48% and a return on equity of 11.11%. Home BancShares’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.56 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Home BancShares will post 2.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home BancShares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 13th. Home BancShares’s dividend payout ratio is 34.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John W. Allison II sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.19, for a total value of $140,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 651,995 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,379,739.05. This represents a 0.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO John W. Allison purchased 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 17th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $26.96 per share, with a total value of $2,696,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 5,798,926 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $156,339,044.96. This represents a 1.75% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 6.39% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HOMB. Root Financial Partners LLC raised its position in Home BancShares by 76.9% in the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised 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 worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 674 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Home BancShares in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Covestor Ltd raised its position in Home BancShares by 110.6% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,327 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 697 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Binnacle Investments Inc raised its position in Home BancShares by 76.7% in the second quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc now owns 1,329 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 577 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.31% of the company’s stock.

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.