Home BancShares (NYSE:HOMB) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Hovde Group

Hovde Group upgraded shares of Home BancShares (NYSE:HOMB) to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Tuesday,Zacks reports.

HOMB has been the topic of several other research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Home BancShares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, August 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Home BancShares from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Benchmark assumed coverage on Home BancShares in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $32.00 price target (up from $29.00) on shares of Home BancShares in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $31.00 price objective (up from $30.00) on shares of Home BancShares in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.00.

Home BancShares Stock Down 1.2%

HOMB opened at $29.80 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.31 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $30.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.24. Home BancShares has a twelve month low of $25.50 and a twelve month high of $31.70.

Home BancShares (NYSE:HOMB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.02. Home BancShares had a net margin of 32.10% and a return on equity of 11.12%. The company had revenue of $295.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $288.70 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.58 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Home BancShares will post 2.51 EPS for the current year.

Home BancShares Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 12th were issued a $0.23 dividend. This is an increase from Home BancShares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 12th. Home BancShares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.02%.

Insider Transactions at Home BancShares

In other Home BancShares news, CEO John Tipton sold 12,000 shares of Home BancShares stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.59, for a total transaction of $379,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 76,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,410,569.72. The trade was a 13.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 6.39% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in HOMB. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in Home BancShares by 164.8% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,083 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 674 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Home BancShares by 76.9% during the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 474 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Home BancShares during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Home BancShares by 110.6% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,327 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 697 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Binnacle Investments Inc raised its holdings in shares of Home BancShares by 76.7% in the second quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc now owns 1,329 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 577 shares during 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.