Home BancShares (NYSE:HOMB) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Home BancShares, Inc. (NYSE:HOMB)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $31.70 and last traded at $31.39, with a volume of 1864052 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $31.48.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HOMB has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Home BancShares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. Benchmark initiated coverage on shares of Home BancShares in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Home BancShares from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $36.00 target price (up from $33.00) on shares of Home BancShares in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, 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 report on Friday, July 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.67.

Home BancShares Trading Down 0.3%

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $28.44 and a 200-day moving average of $27.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.97 and a beta of 0.68.

Home BancShares (NYSE:HOMB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.02. Home BancShares had a return on equity of 11.25% and a net margin of 32.10%.The business had revenue of $295.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $288.70 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.58 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Home BancShares, Inc. will post 2.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home BancShares Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 12th will be paid a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 12th. This is a positive change from Home BancShares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Home BancShares’s payout ratio is presently 34.71%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Home BancShares

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HOMB. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in Home BancShares by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 440,497 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,453,000 after acquiring an additional 15,259 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Home BancShares by 82.7% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 276,814 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,826,000 after purchasing an additional 125,301 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Home BancShares by 13.2% in the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 21,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $612,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in shares of Home BancShares in the second quarter worth about $1,015,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in Home BancShares during the 2nd quarter valued at about $230,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.31% of the company’s stock.

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.