Cullen Capital Management LLC Raises Position in Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC)

Cullen Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC) by 36.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 33,319 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,825 shares during the period. Cullen Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Simmons First National were worth $739,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp bought a new stake in Simmons First National in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 168.3% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,144 shares of the bank’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 1,345 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 31.0% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,091 shares of the bank’s stock worth $135,000 after purchasing an additional 1,443 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Simmons First National by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,778 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $168,000 after purchasing an additional 403 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new stake in Simmons First National in the 4th quarter worth about $212,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.58% of the company’s stock.

Simmons First National Trading Down 3.1 %

NASDAQ SFNC opened at $18.26 on Friday. Simmons First National Co. has a 12 month low of $16.03 and a 12 month high of $25.95. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $21.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $22.43. The stock has a market cap of $2.30 billion, a PE ratio of 15.09 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.03. Simmons First National had a net margin of 10.46% and a return on equity of 5.10%. The business had revenue of $208.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $208.67 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.40 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Simmons First National Co. will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Simmons First National Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.2125 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Simmons First National’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.65%. Simmons First National’s payout ratio is 70.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Stephens reduced their price target on Simmons First National from $29.00 to $28.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock 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.