Strs Ohio Increases Holdings in Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC)

Strs Ohio increased its stake in Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC) by 23.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 52,300 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,100 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio’s holdings in Simmons First National were worth $1,037,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SFNC. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new position in shares of Simmons First National in the third quarter valued at $81,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Simmons First National by 1,314.8% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 12,875 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $218,000 after purchasing an additional 11,965 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Simmons First National in the third quarter valued at $219,000. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Simmons First National by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,590 shares of the bank’s stock worth $230,000 after buying an additional 1,590 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Simmons First National by 978.8% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 13,323 shares of the bank’s stock worth $264,000 after buying an additional 12,088 shares in the last quarter. 27.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Simmons First National Price Performance

Simmons First National stock opened at $18.81 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.98. Simmons First National Co. has a 52 week low of $13.36 and a 52 week high of $20.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market cap of $2.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.63 and a beta of 0.87.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The bank reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.05. Simmons First National had a return on equity of 6.19% and a net margin of 12.82%. The firm had revenue of $197.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $204.25 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.64 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Simmons First National Co. will post 1.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on SFNC. StockNews.com cut Simmons First National from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Simmons First National from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th.

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.