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

Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) (NYSE:HOMB) saw a large drop in short interest during 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 trading volume, of 1,070,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.1 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HOMB has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $34.00 price objective on shares of Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Hovde Group dropped their price objective 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, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.00.

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

In other news, CEO John W. Allison acquired 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $30.76 per share, with a total value of $307,600.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 5,693,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $175,122,278.32. The trade was a 0.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 the business. GTS Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) in the 4th quarter worth approximately $352,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 425,238 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,034,000 after purchasing an additional 42,115 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new position in shares of Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,491,000. Twinbeech Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,184,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) in the fourth quarter worth about $242,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.31% of the company’s stock.

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

Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) stock traded up $0.12 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $30.09. 981,916 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,127,417. The firm has a market cap of $5.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.89 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $29.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.48. Home Bancshares, Inc. has a 1-year low of $22.38 and a 1-year high of $32.90.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $258.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $256.67 million. Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) had a net margin of 27.39% and a return on equity of 10.31%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.43 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Home Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

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

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.