Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Boosts Stake in Home BancShares, Inc. (NYSE:HOMB)

Key Points

• Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in Home BancShares by 43.5%, purchasing 27,330 shares and bringing its total to 90,198 shares worth $2.55 million.
• Home BancShares is set to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.20 on September 3rd, with a dividend yield of 2.79%.
• Recent financial results showed Home BancShares met earnings expectations at $0.58 per share and reported a year-over-year revenue growth of 6.5%, totaling $271.03 million.

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in Home BancShares, Inc. (NYSE:HOMB - Free Report) by 43.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 90,198 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 27,330 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in Home BancShares were worth $2,550,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in Home BancShares by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 198,405 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,615,000 after purchasing an additional 3,915 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Home BancShares by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,291,980 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $574,263,000 after buying an additional 121,845 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Home BancShares by 24.2% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,285,348 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $36,375,000 after buying an additional 250,703 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Home BancShares during the 4th quarter worth approximately $60,169,000. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Home BancShares by 48.2% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,630 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 530 shares in the last quarter. 67.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on Home BancShares from $33.00 to $31.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Home BancShares from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $33.00 price target on shares of Home BancShares in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Home BancShares from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Home BancShares from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $33.20.

Home BancShares Stock Down 2.2%

Home BancShares stock traded down $0.61 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $27.55. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,208,084 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,037,331. Home BancShares, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $24.22 and a fifty-two week high of $32.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The company has a market cap of $5.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.58 and a beta of 0.79. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.63.

Home BancShares (NYSE:HOMB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.58. Home BancShares had a return on equity of 10.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. The business had revenue of $271.03 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $262.56 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Home BancShares, Inc. will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home BancShares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 13th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Home BancShares's payout ratio is presently 36.53%.

Insider Activity at Home BancShares

In other news, CEO John Stephen Tipton sold 24,159 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.52, for a total transaction of $664,855.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 53,308 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,467,036.16. The trade was a 31.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Kevin Hester sold 7,128 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.67, for a total value of $204,359.76. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 124,912 shares in the company, valued at $3,581,227.04. This trade represents a 5.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

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.