Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC) CEO Robert A. Fehlman Sells 15,270 Shares

Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC) CEO Robert A. Fehlman sold 15,270 shares of Simmons First National stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 156,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,755,695.14. This represents a 8.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Simmons First National Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SFNC traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $24.20. The company had a trading volume of 669,666 shares, compared to its average volume of 540,206. Simmons First National Co. has a 52-week low of $15.72 and a 52-week high of $25.95. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $22.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.19. The stock has a market cap of $3.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.64 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

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

Simmons First National Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.47%. Simmons First National’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.35%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Simmons First National

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SFNC. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Simmons First National by 161.0% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,843 shares of the bank’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,137 shares during the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its stake in Simmons First National by 2,045.5% during the 2nd quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 1,888 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in Simmons First National by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 4,129 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 497 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its stake in Simmons First National by 29.0% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,648 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $100,000 after purchasing an additional 1,045 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC raised its stake 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 period. Institutional investors own 27.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.