Yahoo Finance If You Like EPS Growth Then Check Out Home Bancshares (Conway AR) (NASDAQ:HOMB) Before It's Too Late
Some have more dollars than sense, they say, so even companies that have no revenue, no profit, and a record of falling short, can easily find investors. But as Warren Buffett has mused, 'If you've been playing poker for half an hour and you still don't know who the patsy is, you're the patsy.' When they buy such story stocks, investors are all too often the patsy.
In contrast to all that, I prefer to spend time on companies like Home Bancshares (Conway AR) (NASDAQ:HOMB), which has not only revenues, but also profits. While that doesn't make the shares worth buying at any price, you can't deny that successful capitalism requires profit, eventually. Conversely, a loss-making company is yet to prove itself with profit, and eventually the sweet milk of external capital may run sour.
View our latest analysis for Home Bancshares (Conway AR)
How Quickly Is Home Bancshares (Conway AR) Increasing Earnings Per Share?
If a company can keep growing earnings per share (EPS) long enough, its share price will eventually follow. Therefore, there are plenty of investors who like to buy shares in companies that are growing EPS. Impressively, Home Bancshares (Conway AR) has grown EPS by 22% per year, compound, in the last three years. If the company can sustain that sort of growth, we'd expect shareholders to come away winners.
I like to take a look at earnings before interest and (EBIT) tax margins, as well as revenue growth, to get another take on the quality of the company's growth. I note that Home Bancshares (Conway AR)'s revenue from operations was lower than its revenue in the last twelve months, so that could distort my analysis of its margins. Home Bancshares (Conway AR) maintained stable EBIT margins over the last year, all while growing revenue 23% to US$707m. That's progress.
The chart below shows how the company's bottom and top lines have progressed over time. For finer detail, click on the image.
The trick, as an investor, is to find companies that are going to perform well in the future, not just in the past. To that end, right now and today, you can check our visualization of consensus analyst forecasts for future Home Bancshares (Conway AR) EPS 100% free.
Are Home Bancshares (Conway AR) Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?
It makes me feel more secure owning shares in a company if insiders also own shares, thusly more closely aligning our interests. As a result, I'm encouraged by the fact that insiders own Home Bancshares (Conway AR) shares worth a considerable sum. Notably, they have an enormous stake in the company, worth US$372m. This suggests to me that leadership will be very mindful of shareholders' interests when making decisions!
It's good to see that insiders are invested in the company, but are remuneration levels reasonable? Well, based on the CEO pay, I'd say they are indeed. I discovered that the median total compensation for the CEOs of companies like Home Bancshares (Conway AR) with market caps between US$2.0b and US$6.4b is about US$5.4m.
Home Bancshares (Conway AR) offered total compensation worth US$4.6m to its CEO in the year to . That seems pretty reasonable, especially given its below the median for similar sized companies. While the level of CEO compensation isn't a huge factor in my view of the company, modest remuneration is a positive, because it suggests that the board keeps shareholder interests in mind. I'd also argue reasonable pay levels attest to good decision making more generally.
Should You Add Home Bancshares (Conway AR) To Your Watchlist?
You can't deny that Home Bancshares (Conway AR) has grown its earnings per share at a very impressive rate. That's attractive. If you need more convincing beyond that EPS growth rate, don't forget about the reasonable remuneration and the high insider ownership. Each to their own, but I think all this makes Home Bancshares (Conway AR) look rather interesting indeed. It's still necessary to consider the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 3 warning signs with Home Bancshares (Conway AR) (at least 1 which shouldn't be ignored) , and understanding these should be part of your investment process.
Although Home Bancshares (Conway AR) certainly looks good to me, I would like it more if insiders were buying up shares. If you like to see insider buying, too, then this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying, could be exactly what you're looking for.
Please note the insider transactions discussed in this article refer to reportable transactions in the relevant jurisdiction.
This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
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