UPDATE: Wunderlich Securities Upgrades Home Bancshares As Accretive Acquisition Is Expected Soon

In a report published Friday, Wunderlich Securities analyst Kevin Reynolds upgraded the rating on

from Hold to Buy, and raised the price target from $35.00 to $38.00. In the report, Wunderlich Securities noted, “We are upgrading shares of Home BancShares (HOMB) to Buy and raising our price target by $3 to $38 at this time. Since June 2013, HOMB has been relatively quiet with respect to M&A transactions, focusing almost entirely on the completion, conversion and integration of its most recent M&A transaction, the acquisition of Jonesboro, AR-based Liberty Bancshares ($2.9B in assets). "While others in the South have become more active in the M&A arena, HOMB has been on the sidelines for several months, but with Liberty now integrated and initial results tracking ahead of schedule, we believe HOMB is poised to re-enter the M&A arena as early as this quarter. In this note, we present the value creation that is likely to occur should HOMB announce another accretive acquisition.” Home Bancshares closed on Friday at $31.18.