Dark Forest Capital Management LP Invests $3.68 Million in Home BancShares, Inc. $HOMB

Key Points

• Dark Forest Capital Management LP acquired 130,186 shares of Home BancShares, valued at approximately $3.68 million, representing about 0.07% of the company's stock as of its latest SEC filing.
• Home BancShares has received varied ratings from analysts, with Piper Sandler raising its price target to $35.00, while Wall Street Zen downgraded its rating to "sell"; the stock currently holds a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, which will be paid on September 3rd, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 2.7%.

Dark Forest Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Home BancShares, Inc. (NYSE:HOMB - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 130,186 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,680,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP owned about 0.07% of Home BancShares at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HOMB. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S bought a new stake in Home BancShares during the first quarter worth $39,000. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in Home BancShares during the first quarter worth $64,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Home BancShares by 60.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,632 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 995 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Home BancShares by 32.4% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,646 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 647 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in shares of Home BancShares by 60.5% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,468 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $98,000 after buying an additional 1,307 shares in the last quarter. 67.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Home BancShares Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE HOMB traded down $0.27 on Friday, reaching $29.82. The company had a trading volume of 1,085,769 shares, compared to its average volume of 746,672. The firm has a market cap of $5.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.62 and a beta of 0.81. Home BancShares, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $24.22 and a fifty-two week high of $32.90. The business has a 50 day moving average of $29.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

Home BancShares (NYSE:HOMB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.58. The business had revenue of $271.03 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $262.56 million. Home BancShares had a return on equity of 10.60% and a net margin of 29.58%.Home BancShares's quarterly revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.52 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Home BancShares, Inc. will post 2.19 EPS for the current year.

Home BancShares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 13th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 13th. Home BancShares's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO John W. Allison sold 110,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.02, for a total value of $3,302,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 5,540,776 shares in the company, valued at $166,334,095.52. This represents a 1.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO John Stephen Tipton sold 24,159 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.52, for a total value of $664,855.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 53,308 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,467,036.16. The trade was a 31.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HOMB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Home BancShares from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Home BancShares from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Home BancShares from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Home BancShares currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $33.20.

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.