UA soybean division
offers new variety
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture said Monday it has released a new conventional soybean variety this month that can provide high yields as well as be be timed for harvest after farmers have completed harvesting rice crops. The varieties are not genetically modified.
UA 5213C, released this month, is an early maturing group 5 soybean that is ready to harvest in mid-to-late October, Pengyin Chen, director of the division’s soybean breeding program, said in a news release. Chen said that in field trials, the new variety had yields similar to both conventional and Roundup Ready varieties used for comparison.
Chen said UA 5213C is resistant to major diseases including southern stem canker and soybean cyst nematode race 3 but is susceptible to sudden death syndrome. UA 5612, released last year, matures about five days later than 5213C but offers higher yields, according to the news release.
- Steve Painter
Bank analyst raises
projection for firm
Matt Olney, an analyst with Stephens Inc. in Little Rock, has raised his projection for Home BancShares’ stock to $31 a share from $27 a share over the next 12 months.
Olney, who owns no stock in the bank, improved his estimate after the Conway-based firm’s second-quarter earnings were released last week.
Home BancShares closed at $27.44 Monday, up 56 cents, in trading on the Nasdaq exchange.
The stock of Home BancShares, which owns Centennial Bank in Arkansas, Florida and Alabama, has increased 62 percent since the first of the year, well above the average of its peer banks, which had an average stock price increase of 25 percent, Olney said.
- David Smith
Arkansas Index up;
Windstream surges
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, gained 0.71 to 291.12 on Monday.
“Stocks traded in a narrow range throughout the session as investors digested a batch of weaker-than-expected earnings and a disappointing housing report,” said Bob Williams, senior vice president and managing director of Delta Trust Investments Inc. in Little Rock.
Windstream surged by over 3 percent after Standard and Poors’ research arm recommended the stock while on the downside, Williams said. Murphy Oil, Bank of the Ozarks and Simmons First touched 52-week highs during the session, Williams said.
Volume for the index was 19 million shares.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec.
30, 1997.
Business, Pages 19 on 07/23/2013