Stephens Inc. AR Decreases Stock Position in Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC)

Stephens Inc. AR trimmed its holdings in shares of Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC) by 3.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 128,721 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 4,049 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR owned approximately 0.10% of Simmons First National worth $2,855,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SFNC. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in shares of Simmons First National by 3.8% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 59,025 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,038,000 after buying an additional 2,174 shares during the last quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC bought a new position in Simmons First National during the 3rd quarter valued at about $292,000. Alexander Labrunerie & CO. Inc. bought a new position in Simmons First National during the 3rd quarter valued at about $209,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 2,078.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 14,946 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $322,000 after acquiring an additional 14,260 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. grew its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 105.9% in the third quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 3,888 shares of the bank’s stock worth $84,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 27.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SFNC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Simmons First National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Stephens lowered 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.

Insider Buying and Selling at Simmons First National

In other Simmons First National news, CEO Robert A. Fehlman sold 15,270 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.02, for a total transaction of $366,785.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 156,357 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,755,695.14. This trade represents a 8.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.91% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Simmons First National Price Performance

NASDAQ SFNC opened at $23.13 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $22.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.29. Simmons First National Co. has a 52 week low of $16.03 and a 52 week high of $25.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.12 and a beta of 0.86.

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

Simmons First National Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.2125 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Simmons First National’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.85 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.67%. Simmons First National’s payout ratio is 69.42%.

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.