Home BancShares (NYSE:HOMB) Raised to "Hold" at Wall Street Zen

Home BancShares (NYSE:HOMB - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Home BancShares in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Home BancShares in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $32.00 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Home BancShares from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Home BancShares from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Home BancShares presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $33.00.

Home BancShares Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HOMB opened at $28.12 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.84 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. Home BancShares has a one year low of $24.22 and a one year high of $32.90. The company's fifty day moving average price is $28.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.39.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Home BancShares news, CEO John W. Allison sold 110,000 shares of Home BancShares stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.02, for a total transaction of $3,302,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 5,540,776 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $166,334,095.52. The trade was a 1.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Home BancShares

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Home BancShares by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,404,440 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $237,594,000 after buying an additional 196,563 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Home BancShares by 14.7% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,876,022 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $138,772,000 after acquiring an additional 626,655 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Home BancShares by 0.6% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,572,656 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $130,151,000 after acquiring an additional 26,511 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Home BancShares during the second quarter worth about $64,545,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Home BancShares by 3.5% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,242,307 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $63,390,000 after acquiring an additional 75,463 shares in the last quarter. 67.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Home BancShares

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.

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