Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) (NYSE:HOMB) Short Interest Down 11.1% in January

Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) (NYSE:HOMB) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,400,000 shares, a drop of 11.1% from the January 15th total of 4,950,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,070,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.1 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on HOMB shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $34.00 price target on shares of Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Hovde Group lowered their price target on shares of Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.00.

Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE HOMB traded up $0.12 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $30.09. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 981,916 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,127,417. Home Bancshares, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $22.38 and a fifty-two week high of $32.90. The company has a market cap of $5.98 billion, a PE ratio of 14.89 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $29.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.48.

Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) (NYSE:HOMB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $258.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $256.67 million. Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) had a return on equity of 10.31% and a net margin of 27.39%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.43 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Home Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.195 per share. This represents a $0.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 12th. Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR)’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR)

In related news, CEO John W. Allison bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was bought at an average price of $30.76 per share, for a total transaction of $307,600.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 5,693,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $175,122,278.32. This represents a 0.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 7.66% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR)

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HOMB. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) by 49.7% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,286 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 427 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new stake in shares of Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) by 48.2% in 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 buying an additional 530 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) by 41.6% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,797 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 528 shares during the period. 67.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR)

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.