Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) (NYSE:HOMB) Short Interest Up 6.6% in December

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

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

Shares of Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) stock traded up $0.99 on Monday, reaching $30.43. 1,782,080 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 830,528. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.05 billion, a PE ratio of 15.69 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $29.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.89. 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 quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $258.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $256.67 million. Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) had a return on equity of 10.33% and a net margin of 26.69%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.43 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Home Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th were given a dividend of $0.195 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $0.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.56%. Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR)’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.21%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on HOMB shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Hovde Group reduced their target price on Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $28.00 price target on shares of Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $34.00 price target on shares of Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) in a research note on Thursday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.00.

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

In other news, Director Jack Engelkes sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.12, for a total transaction of $753,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 199,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,999,753.40. This trade represents a 11.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Jennifer C. Floyd sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.18, for a total transaction of $60,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,468 shares in the company, valued at approximately $104,664.24. The trade was a 36.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 90,997 shares of company stock worth $2,782,548. Insiders own 7.66% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR)

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) by 2,609.0% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,301,295 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $352,520,000 after acquiring an additional 1,253,259 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) by 8.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,550,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $156,946,000 after purchasing an additional 490,718 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) by 465.2% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 321,517 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,671,000 after acquiring an additional 264,627 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) by 65.2% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 422,952 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,458,000 after purchasing an additional 166,927 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning increased its holdings in Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) by 38.2% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 601,926 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,422,000 after purchasing an additional 166,324 shares in the last quarter. 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.