Hsbc Holdings PLC Purchases 62,945 Shares of Home BancShares, Inc. $HOMB

Key Points

• HSBC Holdings PLC increased its stake in Home BancShares by 78.7% in the first quarter, buying 62,945 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 142,969 shares worth about $3.85 million.
• Analysts have recently turned more constructive on the stock, with several firms raising price targets; the current consensus rating is Hold with a consensus target of $32.67.
• Home BancShares reported better-than-expected Q2 results, with EPS of $0.64 versus $0.62 expected and revenue of $295.1 million, while also announcing a higher quarterly dividend of $0.23 per share.

Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in Home BancShares, Inc. (NYSE:HOMB - Free Report) by 78.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 142,969 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 62,945 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned approximately 0.07% of Home BancShares worth $3,853,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey boosted its holdings in Home BancShares by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 52,582 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,461,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Home BancShares by 4.3% during the third quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 10,360 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $293,000 after purchasing an additional 425 shares during the period. Villanova Investment Management Co LLC raised its position in shares of Home BancShares by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Villanova Investment Management Co LLC now owns 114,093 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,170,000 after buying an additional 468 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Home BancShares by 76.9% in the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,090 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 474 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DRW Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Home BancShares by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. DRW Securities LLC now owns 19,495 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $542,000 after buying an additional 524 shares during the period. 67.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HOMB has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $32.00 price target (up from $29.00) on shares of Home BancShares in a research report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Home BancShares from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Home BancShares from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Home BancShares from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Stephens raised their price target on Home BancShares from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $32.67.

Home BancShares Price Performance

Home BancShares stock opened at $30.98 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. Home BancShares, Inc. has a 52 week low of $25.50 and a 52 week high of $31.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.80 and a beta of 0.68. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $28.13 and a 200-day moving average of $27.91.

Home BancShares (NYSE:HOMB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $295.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $288.70 million. Home BancShares had a return on equity of 11.25% and a net margin of 32.10%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.58 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Home BancShares, Inc. will post 2.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home BancShares Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 12th will be paid a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 12th. This is a positive change from Home BancShares's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Home BancShares's payout ratio is currently 34.71%.

Home BancShares 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding HOMB? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Home BancShares, Inc. (NYSE:HOMB - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.