Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) (NYSE:HOMB) Short Interest Update

Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) (NYSE:HOMB - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest in 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 days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.4 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HOMB. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) by 186.2% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,222 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 795 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) by 49.7% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,286 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 427 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont bought a new stake in shares of Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) in the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) by 41.6% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,797 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 528 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) in the second quarter valued at about $75,000. 67.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) Stock Up 3.4 %

HOMB traded up $0.99 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $30.43. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,782,080 shares, compared to its average volume of 830,528. Home Bancshares, Inc. has a 1 year low of $22.38 and a 1 year high of $32.90. The stock's 50-day moving average is $29.78 and its 200-day moving average is $27.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.05 billion, a price-to-earnings 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.

Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) (NYSE:HOMB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $258.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $256.67 million. Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) had a return on equity of 10.33% and a net margin of 26.69%. Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR)'s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.43 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Home Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.03 EPS for the current year.

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

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $0.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR)'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on HOMB shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $28.00 price objective on shares of Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) in a report on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com upgraded Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $34.00 target price on shares of Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) in a report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Hovde Group cut their price objective on Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $32.00.

Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) Company Profile

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.

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