Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Makes New Investment in Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) (NYSE:HOMB)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) (NYSE:HOMB - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 72,688 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,057,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of HOMB. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Trust Co. of Vermont purchased a new stake in Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in 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 worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 530 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) during the fourth quarter worth $53,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) by 63.6% during 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. 67.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HOMB has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) from $33.00 to $31.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. StockNews.com upgraded Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $33.00 target price on shares of Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $32.40.

Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HOMB traded down $0.05 on Friday, hitting $29.33. The company had a trading volume of 855,617 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,017,667. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Home Bancshares, Inc. has a 52-week low of $22.42 and a 52-week high of $32.91. The business has a 50 day moving average of $27.60 and a 200 day moving average of $28.99. The company has a market cap of $5.79 billion, a PE ratio of 14.52 and a beta of 0.79.

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

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

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This is a positive change from Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR)'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 14th. Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR)'s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.10%.

Insider Activity at Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR)

In related news, insider Kevin Hester sold 7,128 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.67, for a total value of $204,359.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 124,912 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,581,227.04. This represents a 5.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Jennifer C. Floyd sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.45, for a total value of $68,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,301 shares of the company's stock, valued at $118,062.45. The trade was a 36.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

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.