Vanguard Group Inc. Acquires 621,751 Shares of Home BancShares, Inc. $HOMB

Key Points

• Vanguard Group increased its stake by 3.1% in Q4, buying 621,751 shares and now holds 20,423,768 shares—about 10.39% of Home BancShares, valued at roughly $567.4 million.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but the consensus is a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $31.40, while several firms recently trimmed targets into the $30–$33 range and one downgraded the stock to sell.
• Home BancShares declared a quarterly dividend of $0.21 (annualized $0.84) with an ex-dividend date of May 13 and payment on June 3, implying a yield of about 3.2%.

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Home BancShares, Inc. (NYSE:HOMB - Free Report) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,423,768 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 621,751 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 10.39% of Home BancShares worth $567,372,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. 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. Inspire Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Home BancShares by 1.8% during the third quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 24,720 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $700,000 after purchasing an additional 435 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Home BancShares by 0.8% during the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 55,511 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,571,000 after purchasing an additional 463 shares during the period. Binnacle Investments Inc increased its holdings in shares of Home BancShares by 76.7% during the second quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc now owns 1,329 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 577 shares during the period. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its stake in Home BancShares by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 24,407 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $678,000 after acquiring an additional 664 shares during the last quarter. 67.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on HOMB shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of 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. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $31.00 price objective on shares of Home BancShares in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Stephens lowered their price objective on shares of Home BancShares from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Piper Sandler set a $33.00 price objective on shares of Home BancShares and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Home BancShares from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $31.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Home BancShares news, Director John W. Allison II sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.19, for a total transaction of $140,950.00. Following the sale, the director owned 651,995 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,379,739.05. The trade was a 0.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Jennifer C. Floyd sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,635 shares in the company, valued at approximately $125,654.85. The trade was a 39.29% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 6.39% of the company's stock.

Home BancShares Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of HOMB opened at $26.53 on Tuesday. Home BancShares, Inc. has a one year low of $25.67 and a one year high of $30.83. The company has a market cap of $5.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.92 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.86.

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

Home BancShares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 3rd. Shareholders 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 dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 13th. Home BancShares's payout ratio is presently 34.57%.

Home BancShares Company 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.

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