Simmons Bank Sells 8,306 Shares of Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC)

Simmons Bank reduced its stake in Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,332,590 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 8,306 shares during the period. Simmons First National accounts for approximately 2.2% of Simmons Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Simmons Bank’s holdings in Simmons First National were worth $29,557,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in 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 worth $322,000 after acquiring an additional 14,260 shares during the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 18.2% in the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,466 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $355,000 after buying an additional 2,531 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 646,325 shares of the bank’s stock worth $13,922,000 after acquiring an additional 27,479 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in Simmons First National by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 4,129 shares of the bank’s stock worth $89,000 after acquiring an additional 497 shares during the last quarter. 27.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Stephens lowered their price target on shares of 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 Price Performance

SFNC stock opened at $21.50 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $22.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.43. Simmons First National Co. has a 52-week low of $16.03 and a 52-week high of $25.95. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $2.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.77 and a beta of 0.86.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $208.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $208.67 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.40 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 17.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Simmons First National Co. will post 1.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Simmons First National Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.2125 per share. The ex-dividend date is 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 3.95%. Simmons First National’s dividend payout ratio is presently 70.25%.

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.