Home BancShares (NYSE:HOMB) Hits New 12-Month Low – Here’s What Happened

Home BancShares, Inc. (NYSE:HOMB)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $25.67 and last traded at $25.7530, with a volume of 571606 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $26.28.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on HOMB shares. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their target price on Home BancShares from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Zacks Research cut Home BancShares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced 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. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Home BancShares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $33.00 target price on shares of Home BancShares and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.40.

Home BancShares Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $5.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.59 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $26.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92.

Home BancShares (NYSE:HOMB) last posted its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $266.71 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $274.06 million. Home BancShares had a return on equity of 11.11% and a net margin of 32.48%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.56 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Home BancShares, Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home BancShares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 13th. Home BancShares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Home BancShares news, CEO John W. Allison purchased 100,000 shares of Home BancShares stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 17th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $26.96 per share, with a total value of $2,696,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 5,798,926 shares in the company, valued at $156,339,044.96. This trade represents a 1.75% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 shares were sold at an average price of $27.11, for a total transaction of $81,330.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,635 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $125,654.85. This trade represents a 39.29% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 6.39% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Home BancShares

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Home BancShares in the 4th quarter worth about $66,673,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in Home BancShares by 37.3% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,060,888 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $85,031,000 after purchasing an additional 830,823 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Home BancShares by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,423,768 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $567,372,000 after purchasing an additional 621,751 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Home BancShares by 9.1% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,720,491 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $180,979,000 after purchasing an additional 559,603 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Home BancShares by 82.9% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,120,706 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,716,000 after purchasing an additional 508,127 shares during the last quarter. 67.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Home BancShares

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.