Simmons Bank Lowers Stock Position in Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC)

Simmons Bank reduced its position in Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC) by 28.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,340,896 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 523,964 shares during the period. Simmons First National makes up about 2.1% of Simmons Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Simmons Bank’s holdings in Simmons First National were worth $28,883,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Covestor Ltd increased its position in Simmons First National by 13.7% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 4,129 shares of the bank’s stock worth $89,000 after buying an additional 497 shares in the last quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC now owns 48,948 shares of the bank’s stock worth $860,000 after acquiring an additional 533 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 2.0% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 35,085 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $617,000 after purchasing an additional 686 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its position in Simmons First National by 1.8% in the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 63,100 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,109,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Simmons First National by 161.0% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,843 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,137 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.58% of the company’s stock.

Simmons First National Stock Performance

Shares of Simmons First National stock opened at $24.98 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.14 billion, a PE ratio of 24.49 and a beta of 0.86. Simmons First National Co. has a one year low of $14.59 and a one year high of $25.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.87.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The bank reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $203.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $204.91 million. Simmons First National had a net margin of 8.94% and a return on equity of 5.15%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.39 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Simmons First National Co. will post 1.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Simmons First National Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.36%. Simmons First National’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Simmons First National from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Stephens raised Simmons First National from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $27.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Simmons First National from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Simmons First National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $23.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Simmons First National

In related news, CAO David W. Garner sold 3,600 shares of Simmons First National stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.21, for a total transaction of $76,356.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 64,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,377,928.86. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.91% of the company’s stock.

Simmons First National Company 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.