Home BancShares, Inc. (NYSE:HOMB) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts rate Home BancShares a “Moderate Buy”, with five buy ratings and four holds among nine firms. The average 12-month price target is $33.00, with recent targets ranging from $31.00 to $36.00.
• Home BancShares exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.64 EPS versus a $0.62 consensus estimate and revenue of $295.1 million, up 8.9% year over year.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.23 per share, or $0.92 annually, representing a 3.1% yield; institutional investors own 67.31% of outstanding shares.

Shares of Home BancShares, Inc. (NYSE:HOMB - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the nine research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $33.00.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on HOMB shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $31.00 price objective (up from $30.00) on shares of Home BancShares in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Benchmark began coverage on Home BancShares in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $36.00 price target (up from $33.00) on shares of Home BancShares in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Home BancShares from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $32.00 price objective (up from $29.00) on shares of Home BancShares in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st.

Home BancShares Stock Performance

NYSE HOMB opened at $29.80 on Wednesday. Home BancShares has a 52-week low of $25.50 and a 52-week high of $31.70. The company has a fifty day moving average of $30.18 and a 200-day moving average of $28.24. The company has a market capitalization 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.

Home BancShares (NYSE:HOMB - Get Free Report) last released its 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 return on equity of 11.12% and a net margin of 32.10%.The business had revenue of $295.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $288.70 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.58 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Home BancShares will post 2.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home BancShares Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 12th were given a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 12th. This is a boost from Home BancShares's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Home BancShares's dividend payout ratio is 38.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO John Tipton sold 12,000 shares of the firm's 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 directly owned 76,308 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,410,569.72. This trade represents a 13.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 6.39% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Home BancShares

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Home BancShares in the second quarter worth approximately $735,643,000. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Home BancShares by 2,937.2% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 6,272,092 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $179,068,000 after acquiring an additional 6,065,581 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Home BancShares during the fourth quarter worth about $66,673,000. Azora Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Home BancShares during the second quarter worth about $62,027,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Home BancShares in the second quarter worth about $44,068,000. 67.31% of the stock is currently owned by 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.

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