64,200 Shares in Simmons First National Corporation $SFNC Purchased by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 64,200 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $1,249,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SFNC. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Simmons First National by 197.5% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,663 shares of the bank’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,104 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in Simmons First National by 35.6% during the fourth 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. increased its holdings in Simmons First National by 32.0% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,658 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 644 shares during the period. Systematic Financial Management LP bought a new position in Simmons First National in the fourth quarter worth approximately $66,000. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. bought a new position in Simmons First National in the fourth quarter worth approximately $76,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on SFNC shares. Zacks Research lowered Simmons First National from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Stephens lifted their price target on Simmons First National from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Morgan Stanley reissued a “positive” rating on shares of Simmons First National in a research report on Monday. National Bank Financial set a $24.00 price objective on Simmons First National in a research note on Monday. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $21.00 price objective on shares of Simmons First National in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Simmons First National presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.00.

Simmons First National Price Performance

Simmons First National stock opened at $22.84 on Friday. Simmons First National Corporation has a 1-year low of $17.00 and a 1-year high of $23.40. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $21.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.92 and a beta of 0.90.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The bank reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.47. Simmons First National had a positive return on equity of 7.81% and a negative net margin of 25.44%.The company had revenue of $241.37 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $243.02 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.26 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Simmons First National Corporation will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Simmons First National Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a dividend of $0.215 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $0.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Simmons First National’s dividend payout ratio is -33.59%.

About Simmons First National

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.