Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Sells 57,693 Shares of Home BancShares, Inc. (NYSE:HOMB)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. significantly reduced its stake in Home BancShares, Inc. by 79.4%, now holding just 14,995 shares after selling 57,693 shares in the first quarter.
• Home BancShares announced a quarterly dividend of $0.20, set to be paid on September 3rd, reflecting a 2.9% dividend yield.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of Moderate Buy for Home BancShares, with an average target price of $33.20.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Home BancShares, Inc. (NYSE:HOMB - Free Report) by 79.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,995 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 57,693 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Home BancShares were worth $424,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in Home BancShares by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 143,913 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,069,000 after acquiring an additional 4,765 shares during the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd boosted its stake in Home BancShares by 59.4% in the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 9,995 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $283,000 after purchasing an additional 3,726 shares in the last quarter. Vestcor Inc acquired a new position in Home BancShares in the first quarter worth $1,436,000. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Home BancShares during the first quarter worth $714,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Home BancShares by 3.7% in the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 33,932 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $959,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. 67.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. 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 research report on Monday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Home BancShares from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $33.00 target price on shares of Home BancShares in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Home BancShares from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Home BancShares from $33.00 to $31.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $33.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Home BancShares

In related news, CEO John Stephen Tipton sold 24,159 shares of Home BancShares stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 53,308 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,467,036.16. The trade was a 31.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Home BancShares Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE:HOMB traded down $0.20 on Thursday, hitting $27.51. 775,701 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,129,839. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. Home BancShares, Inc. has a 52 week low of $24.22 and a 52 week high of $32.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.56 and a beta of 0.78. The company's 50-day moving average price is $28.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.57.

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

Home BancShares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 13th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Home BancShares's dividend payout ratio is 36.53%.

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.