Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) (NYSE:HOMB) Shares Purchased by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) (NYSE:HOMB - Free Report) by 231.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,273 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 21,845 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.'s holdings in Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) were worth $885,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Trust Co. of Vermont purchased a new stake in Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) by 48.2% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,630 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 530 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) by 63.6% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,999 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 777 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) during the 4th quarter worth $60,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.31% of the company's stock.

Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:HOMB traded up $0.42 during trading on Friday, reaching $26.40. The stock had a trading volume of 1,667,044 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,019,373. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a market capitalization of $5.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.07 and a beta of 0.93. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $28.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.81. Home Bancshares, Inc. has a one year low of $22.42 and a one year high of $32.91.

Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) (NYSE:HOMB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $260.08 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $255.20 million. Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) had a return on equity of 10.31% and a net margin of 27.39%. As a group, research analysts expect that Home Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were issued a $0.195 dividend. This represents a $0.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR)'s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO John W. Allison purchased 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $30.76 per share, with a total value of $307,600.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 5,693,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $175,122,278.32. This represents a 0.18 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Hovde Group dropped their price target on Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $34.00 target price on shares of Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $32.00.

Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) 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.