Home BancShares (NYSE:HOMB) Downgraded to Sell Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Home BancShares (NYSE:HOMB) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note released on Saturday morning.

Several other brokerages have also commented on HOMB. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $36.00 price target (up from $33.00) on shares of Home BancShares in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Home BancShares from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $32.00 target price (up from $29.00) on shares of Home BancShares in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Home BancShares from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Benchmark began coverage on shares of Home BancShares in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Home BancShares presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.67.

Home BancShares Stock Down 0.1%

HOMB stock opened at $30.81 on Friday. Home BancShares has a one year low of $25.50 and a one year high of $31.70. The firm has a market cap of $6.21 billion, a PE ratio of 12.73 and a beta of 0.69. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $29.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92.

Home BancShares (NYSE:HOMB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $295.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $288.70 million. Home BancShares had a return on equity of 11.25% and a net margin of 32.10%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.58 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Home BancShares will post 2.51 EPS for the current year.

Home BancShares Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 12th will be issued a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 12th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. This is a boost from Home BancShares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Home BancShares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.71%.

Insider Transactions at Home BancShares

In related news, CEO John Stephen Tipton sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $2,410,569.72. This represents a 13.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 6.39% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Home BancShares

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of Home BancShares by 3.6% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 440,497 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,453,000 after purchasing an additional 15,259 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its holdings in Home BancShares by 82.7% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 276,814 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,826,000 after buying an additional 125,301 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Home BancShares by 13.2% in the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 21,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $612,000 after buying an additional 2,500 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in Home BancShares in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,015,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Home BancShares in the second quarter worth $230,000. 67.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.