Home BancShares (NYSE:HOMB) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Sell

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Home BancShares (NYSE:HOMB) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note published on Saturday morning.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on HOMB. Piper Sandler set a $33.00 price target on Home BancShares and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Zacks Research cut Home BancShares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Home BancShares in a report on Monday, December 29th. Stephens dropped their price target on Home BancShares from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price target on Home BancShares from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.80.

Home BancShares Price Performance

NYSE HOMB opened at $26.87 on Friday. Home BancShares has a 12 month low of $25.67 and a 12 month high of $30.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.28 billion, a PE ratio of 11.06 and a beta of 0.75. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.92.

Home BancShares (NYSE:HOMB) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 company 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 firm’s revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.56 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Home BancShares will post 2.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home BancShares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 11th were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 11th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Home BancShares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John W. Allison II sold 5,000 shares of Home BancShares stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.19, for a total value of $140,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 651,995 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,379,739.05. The trade was a 0.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Donna Townsell sold 5,563 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.38, for a total value of $157,877.94. Following the sale, the director directly owned 218,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,199,894.80. The trade was a 2.48% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 6.39% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Home BancShares

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Home BancShares during the 4th quarter worth $66,673,000. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in Home BancShares by 37.3% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,060,888 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $85,031,000 after acquiring an additional 830,823 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Home BancShares by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,423,768 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $567,372,000 after acquiring an additional 621,751 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Home BancShares by 82.9% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,120,706 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,716,000 after acquiring an additional 508,127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Home BancShares during the 2nd quarter worth $12,931,000. Institutional investors own 67.31% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Home BancShares

Here are the key news stories impacting Home BancShares this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 profitability beat expectations slightly — non-GAAP EPS $0.60 (+$0.01 vs. consensus) and strong net income/ROA figures underpin the bank’s earnings quality. Earnings Beat & Revenue Miss (Seeking Alpha)
• Positive Sentiment: Stephens maintained an Overweight rating and set a $32 price target (down from $34), signaling continued analyst conviction and roughly ~19% upside from recent levels. This analyst support can attract buyers. Stephens Price Target Note (Benzinga)
• Positive Sentiment: Earnings call materials and transcripts highlight strategic execution and stability in core metrics, which helps investor confidence in ongoing profitability. Q1 Earnings Call Highlights (Yahoo Finance)
• Neutral Sentiment: Detailed earnings call transcripts and the investor presentation are available for further color — useful for watching commentary on loan growth, margins and capital deployment but not immediate price drivers by themselves. Earnings Call Transcript (Seeking Alpha)
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue missed Wall Street estimates (reported ~$266.7M vs. ~$274M expected), which could raise concerns about growth momentum and pressure near-term sentiment. Revenue Miss Coverage (MSN)
• Negative Sentiment: Technical/valuation context: the 50- and 200-day moving averages sit above the current price, which may act as resistance; modest PE (~11) signals value but limited near-term momentum. (Market data)

Home BancShares Company 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.