Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC) Shares Bought by Simmons Bank

Simmons Bank boosted its stake in shares of Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC) by 9.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,977,793 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 175,716 shares during the period. Simmons First National makes up 3.2% of Simmons Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Simmons Bank’s holdings in Simmons First National were worth $39,239,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 0.6% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 214,262 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,634,000 after buying an additional 1,187 shares in the last quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 121,073 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,053,000 after purchasing an additional 1,330 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Simmons First National in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Simmons First National by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,590 shares of the bank’s stock worth $230,000 after buying an additional 1,590 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its holdings in Simmons First National by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 52,821 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,048,000 after buying an additional 2,454 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.58% of the company’s stock.

Simmons First National Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SFNC traded up $0.11 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $17.94. The company had a trading volume of 95,045 shares, compared to its average volume of 497,780. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.41 and a beta of 0.90. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $18.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $18.08. Simmons First National Co. has a fifty-two week low of $13.36 and a fifty-two week high of $20.82.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.32. The firm had revenue of $195.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $202.35 million. Simmons First National had a net margin of 11.97% and a return on equity of 5.94%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.37 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Simmons First National Co. will post 1.33 EPS for the current year.

Simmons First National Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.68%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Simmons First National’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.16%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP George A. Makris III sold 15,625 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.23, for a total value of $269,218.75. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 39,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $684,151.61. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on SFNC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Simmons First National from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Simmons First National from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Stephens reduced their price target on shares of Simmons First National from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Simmons First National from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Simmons First National has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.00.

About Simmons First National

Simmons First National Corporation operates as the holding company for Simmons Bank that provides banking and other financial products and services to individuals and businesses. The company offers checking, savings, and time deposits; consumer, real estate, and commercial loans; agricultural finance, equipment, and small business administration lending; trust and fiduciary services; credit cards; investment management products; treasury management; insurance products; and securities and investment services.