BNP Paribas Financial Markets Sells 13,602 Shares of Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets decreased its position in shares of Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC) by 33.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 26,692 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 13,602 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in Simmons First National were worth $592,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in shares of Simmons First National in the 4th quarter worth approximately $579,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Simmons First National by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 673,440 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,937,000 after acquiring an additional 27,115 shares during the period. Carlson Capital L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Simmons First National during the fourth quarter valued at about $464,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of Simmons First National by 54.7% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 85,457 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,895,000 after purchasing an additional 30,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Simmons First National by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,895,477 shares of the bank’s stock worth $42,042,000 after acquiring an additional 29,335 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.58% of the company’s stock.

Simmons First National Price Performance

NASDAQ:SFNC opened at $18.80 on Friday. Simmons First National Co. has a one year low of $16.03 and a one year high of $25.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market cap of $2.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.54 and a beta of 0.91. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $19.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.55.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last posted its earnings results 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 return on equity of 5.10% and a net margin of 10.46%. The firm had revenue of $209.58 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $209.00 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.32 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Simmons First National Co. will post 1.66 EPS for the current year.

Simmons First National Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.2125 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $0.85 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.52%. Simmons First National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SFNC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler upgraded Simmons First National from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Simmons First National from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Stephens reduced their price target on Simmons First National from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st.

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.