Cantor Fitzgerald Begins Coverage on Home BancShares (NYSE:HOMB)

Key Points

• Home BancShares was upgraded to a "hold" rating by Cantor Fitzgerald, indicating a more cautious outlook compared to its previous evaluations.
• Analysts showed mixed sentiments; while Piper Sandler raised their price target to $35.00 with an "overweight" rating, Wall Street Zen downgraded their rating to "sell."
• The company reported $0.58 earnings per share in its last quarter, matching consensus estimates, with a notable revenue increase of 6.5% year-over-year.

Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Home BancShares (NYSE:HOMB - Free Report) in a research report report published on Tuesday, September 9th, Marketbeat reports. The firm issued a neutral rating and a $32.00 price objective on the financial services provider's stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Home BancShares from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Home BancShares from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Home BancShares from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Home BancShares presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $33.00.

Home BancShares Stock Down 1.4%

HOMB stock traded down $0.41 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $28.97. The company's stock had a trading volume of 210,201 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,001,171. The company's fifty day moving average price is $29.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.37. 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 twelve month low of $24.22 and a twelve month high of $32.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.24 and a beta of 0.81.

Home BancShares (NYSE:HOMB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.58. The company had revenue of $271.03 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $262.56 million. Home BancShares had a net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 10.60%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.52 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Home BancShares will post 2.19 EPS for the current year.

Home BancShares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 13th were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 13th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. Home BancShares's payout ratio is 36.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Home BancShares

In other 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 owned 53,308 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,467,036.16. This trade represents a 31.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John W. Allison sold 110,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.02, for a total transaction of $3,302,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 5,540,776 shares in the company, valued at $166,334,095.52. This trade represents a 1.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Home BancShares

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Binnacle Investments Inc grew its position in 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 buying an additional 577 shares in the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S bought a new stake in shares of Home BancShares during the 1st quarter valued at $39,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Home BancShares during the 1st quarter worth $64,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Home BancShares by 60.8% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,632 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 995 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of Home BancShares by 32.4% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,646 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares during the period. 67.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.