Bank of Montreal Can Increases Position in Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC)

Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in shares of Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC) by 14.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 14,867 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,838 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in Simmons First National were worth $330,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SFNC. Jones Financial Companies Lllp purchased a new position in shares of Simmons First National during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in 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 grew its position in shares of Simmons First National by 31.0% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,091 shares of the bank’s stock worth $135,000 after buying an additional 1,443 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new stake in Simmons First National during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $212,000. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new position in shares of Simmons First National during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $258,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.58% of the company’s stock.

Simmons First National Price Performance

Shares of SFNC stock opened at $18.15 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $19.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.06. The company has a market capitalization of $2.29 billion, a PE ratio of 15.00 and a beta of 0.82. Simmons First National Co. has a 12 month low of $16.03 and a 12 month high of $25.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The bank reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.10). Simmons First National had a net margin of 10.46% and a return on equity of 5.10%. The company had revenue of $209.58 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $209.00 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.32 EPS. Analysts predict that Simmons First National Co. will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Simmons First National Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.2125 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.68%. This is an increase from Simmons First National’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Simmons First National’s payout ratio is presently 73.28%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stephens cut their target price on shares of Simmons First National from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Piper Sandler upgraded Simmons First National from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $20.00 to $21.00 in a report on Monday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Simmons First National from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday.

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.