Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC) Shares Sold by New York State Teachers Retirement System

New York State Teachers Retirement System lowered its stake in Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 86,571 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 1,946 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Simmons First National were worth $1,718,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cadence Bank grew its stake in Simmons First National by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Cadence Bank now owns 20,732 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $544,000 after acquiring an additional 460 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in Simmons First National by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 48,991 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,057,000 after purchasing an additional 481 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. boosted its stake in Simmons First National by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 28,625 shares of the bank’s stock worth $751,000 after purchasing an additional 514 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in Simmons First National by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 22,731 shares of the bank’s stock worth $596,000 after purchasing an additional 577 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. boosted its stake in Simmons First National by 11.2% during the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 10,435 shares of the bank’s stock worth $180,000 after purchasing an additional 1,049 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.58% of the company’s stock.

Simmons First National Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of SFNC opened at $17.49 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $18.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.92. 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 $2.19 billion, a PE ratio of 12.67 and a beta of 0.87. Simmons First National Co. has a 52-week low of $13.36 and a 52-week high of $20.82.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The bank reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $197.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $204.25 million. Simmons First National had a net margin of 12.82% and a return on equity of 6.19%. The company’s revenue was down 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.64 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Simmons First National Co. will post 1.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Simmons First National Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This is a boost from Simmons First National’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.80%. Simmons First National’s payout ratio is presently 60.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Simmons First National from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Simmons First National from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note 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.