Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) (NYSE:HOMB) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) (NYSE:HOMB) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $32.00.

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Hovde Group reduced their price objective on Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $34.00 price target on shares of Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) in a report on Thursday, January 16th.

Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) Price Performance

Shares of HOMB stock opened at $27.95 on Friday. Home Bancshares, Inc. has a 52-week low of $22.38 and a 52-week high of $32.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.83 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $29.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.81.

Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) (NYSE:HOMB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.02). Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) had a return on equity of 10.31% and a net margin of 27.39%. The business had revenue of $258.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $256.67 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.43 earnings per share. Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR)’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Home Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were given a $0.195 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $0.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.79%. Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR)’s payout ratio is 38.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO John W. Allison purchased 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was bought at an average price of $30.76 per share, with a total value of $307,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 5,693,182 shares in the company, valued at $175,122,278.32. The trade was a 0.18 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 7.66% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR)

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new stake in Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) during the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) by 48.2% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 530 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) during the 4th quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) by 63.6% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,999 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 777 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.31% of the company’s stock.

About Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR)

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.