Strs Ohio Acquires 3,800 Shares of Simmons First National Corporation $SFNC

Strs Ohio raised its holdings in Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC) by 8.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,100 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,800 shares during the period. Strs Ohio’s holdings in Simmons First National were worth $912,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Peregrine Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Simmons First National by 4.0% in the second quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC now owns 269,958 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,118,000 after purchasing an additional 10,441 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 57.0% in the 2nd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 33,146 shares of the bank’s stock worth $628,000 after buying an additional 12,037 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Simmons First National by 8.1% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 21,068 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $399,000 after buying an additional 1,578 shares in the last quarter. MQS Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 33.7% during the 2nd quarter. MQS Management LLC now owns 20,379 shares of the bank’s stock worth $386,000 after acquiring an additional 5,137 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connors Investor Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 29.5% during the 2nd quarter. Connors Investor Services Inc. now owns 133,504 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,531,000 after acquiring an additional 30,404 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Zacks Research cut Simmons First National from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Simmons First National in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. National Bankshares set a $22.00 price objective on Simmons First National in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Simmons First National from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Simmons First National in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. They issued a “positive” rating and a $22.00 target price for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.33.

Insider Activity

In other Simmons First National news, Director Steven A. Cosse purchased 8,603 shares of Simmons First National stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 30th. The shares were bought at an average price of $17.44 per share, for a total transaction of $150,036.32. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 113,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,982,090.88. This trade represents a 8.19% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP David W. Garner purchased 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 22nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $17.66 per share, with a total value of $52,980.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 72,345 shares in the company, valued at $1,277,612.70. The trade was a 4.33% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 1.91% of the company’s stock.

Simmons First National Price Performance

Shares of Simmons First National stock opened at $17.45 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Simmons First National Corporation has a one year low of $17.00 and a one year high of $25.56. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $19.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.53 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.96 and a beta of 0.97.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 16th. The bank reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by ($0.01). Simmons First National had a negative net margin of 29.70% and a positive return on equity of 5.84%. The company had revenue of $232.54 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $103.26 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.37 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Simmons First National Corporation will post 1.66 EPS for the current year.

Simmons First National Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th were given a $0.2125 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $0.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.9%. Simmons First National’s payout ratio is presently -29.01%.

Simmons First National Company 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.