Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Acquires New Shares in Home BancShares, Inc. $HOMB

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Home BancShares, Inc. (NYSE:HOMB) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 50,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,409,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HOMB. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Home BancShares during the 2nd quarter valued at $735,643,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Home BancShares by 9.1% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,720,491 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $180,979,000 after acquiring an additional 559,603 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Home BancShares by 13.4% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,471,607 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $93,490,000 after acquiring an additional 410,719 shares in the last quarter. Azora Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Home BancShares during the 2nd quarter valued at $62,027,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Home BancShares in the second quarter worth $44,068,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.31% of the company’s stock.

Home BancShares Stock Up 0.0%

HOMB traded up $0.01 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $30.01. 1,518,471 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,642,170. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The company has a market cap of $5.97 billion, a PE ratio of 12.30 and a beta of 0.73. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $29.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.63. Home BancShares, Inc. has a one year low of $25.50 and a one year high of $31.70.

Home BancShares (NYSE:HOMB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 14th. The financial services provider reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $288.44 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $294.42 million. Home BancShares had a net margin of 32.36% and a return on equity of 11.14%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.61 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Home BancShares, Inc. will post 2.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home BancShares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 10th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Home BancShares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on HOMB. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $34.00 price objective (down from $36.00) on shares of Home BancShares in a report on Friday, October 16th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Home BancShares from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Home BancShares in a research note on Tuesday, November 3rd. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Home BancShares in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Home BancShares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, August 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Home BancShares presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at Home BancShares

In related news, Director John W. Allison II sold 13,500 shares of Home BancShares stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.06, for a total value of $405,810.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 636,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,133,039.70. The trade was a 2.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 6.39% of the company’s stock.

About Home BancShares

Home BancShares, Inc. is a bank holding company headquartered in Conway, Arkansas. Founded in 1998, it provides banking services through its principal subsidiary, Centennial Bank. Centennial Bank serves customers in Arkansas, Florida, Alabama and Texas. Its offerings include personal and business deposit accounts, loans, mortgages, and other commercial and retail banking services. The company serves individuals, businesses and organizations, with products and services tailored to both consumer and commercial banking needs.