Retirement Investment Advisors Inc. Increases Stake in Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC)

Retirement Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC) by 97.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,000 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,392 shares during the period. Retirement Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Simmons First National were worth $333,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp purchased a new position in shares of Simmons First National during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 168.3% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,144 shares of the bank’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 1,345 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in Simmons First National by 31.0% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,091 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $135,000 after acquiring an additional 1,443 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in Simmons First National by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,778 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $168,000 after acquiring an additional 403 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new stake in Simmons First National in the fourth quarter worth $212,000. 27.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Simmons First National Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:SFNC opened at $20.47 on Friday. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $21.71 and its 200 day moving average is $22.47. The stock has a market cap of $2.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.92 and a beta of 0.84. Simmons First National Co. has a 52-week low of $16.03 and a 52-week high of $25.95.

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

Simmons First National Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.2125 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.85 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.15%. This is a positive change from Simmons First National’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Simmons First National’s payout ratio is currently 70.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Stephens lowered their target price on shares of Simmons First National from $29.00 to $28.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd.

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.