AlphaQuest LLC Takes $2.33 Million Position in Home BancShares, Inc. $HOMB

Key Points

• AlphaQuest LLC has acquired a new stake valued at approximately $2.33 million in Home BancShares, buying 81,680 shares in the 2nd quarter.
• Home BancShares recently declared an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.21 per share, representing a 3.1% yield, with the ex-dividend date set for November 12th.
• Despite recent rating fluctuations, the stock maintains an average rating of "Moderate Buy" with a target price of $32.83 according to analysts.

AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Home BancShares, Inc. (NYSE:HOMB - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 81,680 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,325,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Home BancShares by 12.8% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 18,451 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $522,000 after purchasing an additional 2,096 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Home BancShares by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 428,649 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $12,118,000 after acquiring an additional 4,019 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Home BancShares by 60.8% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,632 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 995 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Home BancShares by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,242,307 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $63,390,000 after acquiring an additional 75,463 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Home BancShares by 48.0% in the 1st quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 18,804 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $532,000 after acquiring an additional 6,102 shares in the last quarter. 67.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on HOMB. Piper Sandler set a $34.00 price objective on Home BancShares and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Home BancShares from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on Home BancShares in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $32.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Home BancShares in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Home BancShares from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday, October 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Home BancShares currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $32.83.

Home BancShares Price Performance

Shares of HOMB stock opened at $27.45 on Friday. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $28.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The firm has a market cap of $5.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.83 and a beta of 0.78. Home BancShares, Inc. has a one year low of $24.22 and a one year high of $32.90.

Home BancShares (NYSE:HOMB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $277.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $269.96 million. Home BancShares had a return on equity of 10.94% and a net margin of 31.20%.The business's revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.50 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Home BancShares, Inc. will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home BancShares Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. This is a boost from Home BancShares's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 12th. Home BancShares's payout ratio is currently 34.48%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO John W. Allison sold 110,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.02, for a total transaction of $3,302,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 5,540,776 shares of the company's stock, valued at $166,334,095.52. This represents a 1.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 6.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Home BancShares Company Profile

Home Bancshares, Inc (Conway, AR) operates as the bank holding company for Centennial Bank that provides commercial and retail banking, and related financial services to businesses, real estate developers and investors, individuals, and municipalities. Its deposit products include checking, savings, and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposit.

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