Home BancShares (NYSE:HOMB) Downgraded by Zacks Research to Hold

Zacks Research cut shares of Home BancShares (NYSE:HOMB) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price objective on shares of Home BancShares from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Home BancShares in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Home BancShares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $35.00 target price (up from $34.00) on shares of Home BancShares in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $31.00 target price on Home BancShares in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Home BancShares presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.40.

Home BancShares Price Performance

NYSE:HOMB opened at $26.00 on Monday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $28.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.24. Home BancShares has a 52 week low of $24.22 and a 52 week high of $30.83. The stock has a market cap of $5.11 billion, a PE ratio of 10.79 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Home BancShares (NYSE:HOMB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 14th. The financial services provider reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60. The firm had revenue of $269.25 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $272.48 million. Home BancShares had a return on equity of 11.16% and a net margin of 32.18%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.50 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Home BancShares will post 2.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home BancShares Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 11th were paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 11th. Home BancShares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director John W. Allison II sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.19, for a total transaction of $140,950.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 651,995 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,379,739.05. The trade was a 0.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Donna Townsell sold 5,563 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.38, for a total value of $157,877.94. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 218,460 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,199,894.80. This represents a 2.48% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 6.39% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HOMB. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Home BancShares by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,423,768 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $567,372,000 after acquiring an additional 621,751 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Home BancShares by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,160,888 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $171,152,000 after purchasing an additional 203,392 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in Home BancShares by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,588,267 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $155,242,000 after purchasing an additional 238,548 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Home BancShares by 14.7% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,876,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $138,772,000 after purchasing an additional 626,655 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Home BancShares by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,572,656 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $130,151,000 after acquiring an additional 26,511 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.31% of the company’s stock.

About Home BancShares

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.