Van ECK Associates Corp Purchases 33,773 Shares of Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) (NYSE:HOMB)

Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) (NYSE:HOMB) by 33.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 135,866 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 33,773 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned approximately 0.07% of Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) worth $3,845,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of HOMB. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 69,914 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,979,000 after acquiring an additional 374 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in shares of Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 85,865 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,326,000 after purchasing an additional 481 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 528 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 27,651 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $783,000 after buying an additional 540 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) by 5.4% in the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 10,854 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $294,000 after buying an additional 554 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.31% of the company’s stock.

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

NYSE:HOMB opened at $30.07 on Thursday. Home Bancshares, Inc. has a twelve month low of $22.38 and a twelve month high of $32.90. 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $29.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.98 billion, a PE ratio of 14.89 and a beta of 1.10.

Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) (NYSE:HOMB) last announced 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.43 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Home Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.195 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $0.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.59%. Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR)’s payout ratio is presently 38.61%.

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

In other news, CEO John W. Allison acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was bought at an average price of $30.76 per share, with a total value of $307,600.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 5,693,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $175,122,278.32. This represents a 0.18 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 7.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on HOMB. StockNews.com raised 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 target on shares of Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. 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 research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Hovde Group dropped their target price on shares of Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.00.

Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) 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.