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

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

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Home BancShares in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $32.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Home BancShares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 2nd. Piper Sandler set a $34.00 target price on Home BancShares and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Home BancShares in a report on Monday, December 29th.

Institutional Trading of Home BancShares

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new position in Home BancShares during the 1st quarter valued at $227,000. Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new stake in shares of Home BancShares in the 1st quarter valued at about $2,638,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Home BancShares by 21.4% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 326,506 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,159,000 after purchasing an additional 57,460 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Home BancShares by 4.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 110,969 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,137,000 after purchasing an additional 4,870 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd lifted its position in shares of Home BancShares by 97.7% during the first quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 45,845 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,296,000 after purchasing an additional 22,654 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.31% of the company’s stock.

Home BancShares Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HOMB opened at $28.51 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $27.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.39. The company has a market cap of $5.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.29 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. Home BancShares has a one year low of $24.22 and a one year high of $31.27.

Home BancShares (NYSE:HOMB) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 $277.67 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $269.96 million. Home BancShares had a net margin of 31.20% and a return on equity of 10.94%. Home BancShares’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.50 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Home BancShares will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home BancShares Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th were given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 12th. This is a positive change from Home BancShares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Home BancShares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.21%.

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.