Simmons First National Corporation $SFNC Shares Bought by Renaissance Technologies LLC

Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC) by 52.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 304,657 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 105,400 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in Simmons First National were worth $5,926,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 156.0% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,518 shares of the bank’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 925 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Simmons First National by 197.5% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,663 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 1,104 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in Simmons First National by 35.6% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,884 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 495 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its position in Simmons First National by 32.0% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,658 shares of the bank’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 644 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP purchased a new position in Simmons First National during the 4th quarter worth $66,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on SFNC shares. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a “positive” rating on shares of Simmons First National in a report on Monday, June 29th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $23.00 price target on shares of Simmons First National in a report on Friday, July 17th. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Simmons First National from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of Simmons First National in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Simmons First National from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Simmons First National currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $24.50.

Simmons First National Price Performance

SFNC stock opened at $24.03 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $22.57 and a 200-day moving average of $21.21. The company has a market cap of $3.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.50 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Simmons First National Corporation has a 12-month low of $17.00 and a 12-month high of $24.25.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 16th. The bank reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.03). Simmons First National had a negative net margin of 24.64% and a positive return on equity of 8.32%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.44 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Simmons First National Corporation will post 2.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Simmons First National Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a $0.215 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $0.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Simmons First National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -33.99%.

Simmons First National Profile

Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC) is a bank holding company headquartered in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Through its primary operating subsidiary, Simmons Bank, the company maintains a network of more than 200 branches across Arkansas, Tennessee, Missouri, Mississippi, Texas, Oklahoma and North Carolina. Simmons First National offers a full suite of financial services to individuals, small businesses and commercial clients, emphasizing relationship-driven community banking.

The company’s core business activities span deposit-taking, lending and payment services.