Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH Boosts Position in Home BancShares, Inc. $HOMB

Key Points

• Fort Washington Investment Advisors increased its Home BancShares stake by 52.3% in the first quarter, ending with 1,064,495 shares worth about $28.7 million.
• Analysts are mixed on HOMB: some firms cut ratings or target prices, and the overall consensus remains Hold with a $31.20 target.
• Home BancShares reported quarterly EPS of $0.60, matching expectations, and it also paid a $0.21 quarterly dividend that annualizes to a 2.9% yield.

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH grew its stake in shares of Home BancShares, Inc. (NYSE:HOMB - Free Report) by 52.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,064,495 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 365,440 shares during the period. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH owned 0.54% of Home BancShares worth $28,667,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Home BancShares in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $66,673,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in Home BancShares by 37.3% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,060,888 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $85,031,000 after acquiring an additional 830,823 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Home BancShares by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,423,768 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $567,372,000 after acquiring an additional 621,751 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Home BancShares by 82.9% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,120,706 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,716,000 after purchasing an additional 508,127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in Home BancShares in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $12,931,000. 67.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on HOMB shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Home BancShares from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 18th. Benchmark initiated coverage on Home BancShares in a research note on Wednesday. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Weiss Ratings lowered Home BancShares from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Home BancShares from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $33.00 target price on Home BancShares and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Home BancShares has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $31.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Jennifer C. Floyd sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.11, for a total value of $81,330.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 4,635 shares of the company's stock, valued at $125,654.85. This represents a 39.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO John W. Allison purchased 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $26.96 per share, with a total value of $2,696,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 5,798,926 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $156,339,044.96. The trade was a 1.75% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 6.39% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Home BancShares Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of Home BancShares stock opened at $29.31 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. Home BancShares, Inc. has a 1 year low of $25.50 and a 1 year high of $30.83. The firm has a market cap of $5.90 billion, a PE ratio of 12.06 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.76.

Home BancShares (NYSE:HOMB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60. The firm had revenue of $266.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $274.06 million. Home BancShares had a net margin of 32.48% and a return on equity of 11.11%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.56 EPS. Analysts expect that Home BancShares, Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home BancShares Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 13th were given a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Home BancShares's payout ratio is 34.57%.

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.

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