Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Purchases Shares of 95,668 Home BancShares, Inc. $HOMB

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group disclosed a new fourth-quarter stake in Home BancShares, buying 95,668 shares valued at about $2.66 million.
• Institutional ownership in HOMB remains high, with hedge funds and other investors holding 67.31% of the company; several firms also increased their positions recently.
• Home BancShares reported Q1 earnings of $0.60 per share, matching analyst estimates, and it also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share for a 3.1% annualized yield.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Home BancShares, Inc. (NYSE:HOMB - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 95,668 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,658,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Home BancShares by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,423,768 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $567,372,000 after purchasing an additional 621,751 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Home BancShares by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,957,496 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $168,597,000 after purchasing an additional 45,848 shares in the last quarter. Barr E S & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Home BancShares by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Barr E S & Co. now owns 2,413,987 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $67,061,000 after acquiring an additional 70,717 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Home BancShares by 52.5% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,230,065 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $63,111,000 after acquiring an additional 767,844 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Home BancShares by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,082,532 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $58,936,000 after acquiring an additional 88,563 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.31% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on HOMB shares. Piper Sandler set a $33.00 price objective on Home BancShares and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Stephens dropped their price objective on Home BancShares from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Home BancShares from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 20th. Zacks Research downgraded Home BancShares from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $30.00 price objective (down from $31.00) on shares of Home BancShares in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $31.20.

Home BancShares Trading Up 0.6%

HOMB opened at $26.77 on Wednesday. Home BancShares, Inc. has a one year low of $25.50 and a one year high of $30.83. The company has a market cap of $5.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.02 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $26.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.78.

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

Home BancShares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 13th. Home BancShares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Jennifer C. Floyd sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.11, for a total transaction of $81,330.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 4,635 shares in the company, valued at $125,654.85. This trade represents a 39.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO John W. Allison purchased 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 17th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $26.96 per share, for a total transaction of $2,696,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 5,798,926 shares in the company, valued at $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. Company insiders own 6.39% of the company's stock.

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.

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.