Norges Bank Invests $66.67 Million in Home BancShares, Inc. $HOMB

Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Home BancShares, Inc. (NYSE:HOMB) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 2,400,030 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $66,673,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of Home BancShares by 110.6% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,327 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 697 shares during the period. Binnacle Investments Inc boosted its position in shares of Home BancShares by 76.7% during the second quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc now owns 1,329 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 577 shares during the period. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Home BancShares during the fourth quarter worth $49,000. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in shares of Home BancShares during the third quarter worth $57,000. Finally, Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new position in shares of Home BancShares during the fourth quarter worth $58,000. 67.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Home BancShares

In other Home BancShares news, CAO Jennifer C. Floyd sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.11, for a total value of $81,330.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,635 shares in the company, valued at $125,654.85. This trade represents a 39.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO John W. Allison purchased 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $26.96 per share, for a total transaction of $2,696,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 5,798,926 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $156,339,044.96. This represents a 1.75% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 6.39% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Home BancShares Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE HOMB opened at $27.14 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $5.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.17 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Home BancShares, Inc. has a 12-month low of $25.50 and a 12-month high of $30.83. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $26.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.75.

Home BancShares (NYSE:HOMB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.60. The business had revenue of $266.71 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $274.06 million. Home BancShares had a return on equity of 11.11% and a net margin of 32.48%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.56 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Home BancShares, Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home BancShares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 13th. Home BancShares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HOMB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and set a $30.00 price target (down from $31.00) on shares of Home BancShares in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Weiss Ratings lowered Home BancShares from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Stephens lowered their price target on Home BancShares from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Zacks Research lowered Home BancShares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Home BancShares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.20.

Home BancShares Profile

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.