Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) (NYSE:HOMB) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) (NYSE:HOMB) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,360,000 shares, an increase of 6.6% from the December 31st total of 4,090,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 986,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.4 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $34.00 price objective on shares of Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Hovde Group cut their target price on shares of Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $28.00 target price on shares of Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.00.

Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) Trading Up 1.2 %

HOMB traded up $0.35 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $30.27. The stock had a trading volume of 132,776 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,206,389. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.98 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $29.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.27. Home Bancshares, Inc. has a 52 week low of $22.38 and a 52 week high of $32.90.

Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) (NYSE:HOMB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.02). Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) had a net margin of 27.39% and a return on equity of 10.31%. The firm had revenue of $258.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $256.67 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.43 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Home Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.18 EPS for the current year.

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

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.195 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $0.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.58%. Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR)’s payout ratio is presently 38.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Jack Engelkes sold 25,000 shares of Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.12, for a total value of $753,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 199,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,999,753.40. The trade was a 11.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director James Pat Hickman sold 63,997 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.77, for a total transaction of $1,969,187.69. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 175,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,400,135. The trade was a 26.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 90,997 shares of company stock valued at $2,782,548. Insiders own 7.66% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR)

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) by 186.2% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,222 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 795 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) by 49.7% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,286 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 427 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont bought a new stake in shares of Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) by 41.6% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,797 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 528 shares during the period. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) in the fourth quarter valued at about $60,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.31% of the company’s stock.

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.