Denali Advisors LLC Sells 285,700 Shares of Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC)

Denali Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC) by 83.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 58,300 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 285,700 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC’s holdings in Simmons First National were worth $1,293,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 33.8% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 676,171 shares of the bank’s stock worth $14,565,000 after buying an additional 170,821 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Simmons First National by 131.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 247,821 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,337,000 after acquiring an additional 140,738 shares in the last quarter. Dean Investment Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 231.6% during the third quarter. Dean Investment Associates LLC now owns 137,352 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,959,000 after acquiring an additional 95,928 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,866,142 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $40,197,000 after purchasing an additional 65,992 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Simmons First National in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,339,000. Institutional investors own 27.58% of the company’s stock.

Simmons First National Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of SFNC opened at $21.52 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The company has a market cap of $2.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.79 and a beta of 0.86. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $22.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $22.44. Simmons First National Co. has a 52-week low of $16.03 and a 52-week high of $25.95.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.03. Simmons First National had a return on equity of 5.10% and a net margin of 10.46%. The business had revenue of $208.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $208.67 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.40 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Simmons First National Co. will post 1.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Simmons First National Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.2125 per share. This represents a $0.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.95%. This is a positive change from Simmons First National’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Simmons First National’s dividend payout ratio is presently 70.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Stephens cut their price target on shares of Simmons First National from $29.00 to $28.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd.

Simmons First National Profile

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.