Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC) Shares Sold by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund lessened its stake in shares of Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC) by 31.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 38,283 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 17,500 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Simmons First National were worth $786,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SFNC. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Simmons First National by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,866,647 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $329,742,000 after purchasing an additional 630,376 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Simmons First National by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,616,599 shares of the bank’s stock worth $168,938,000 after purchasing an additional 51,468 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Simmons First National in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,095,000. FJ Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 35.1% in the 4th quarter. FJ Capital Management LLC now owns 1,104,008 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $24,487,000 after buying an additional 286,622 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Simmons First National by 49.6% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,011,431 shares of the bank’s stock worth $22,434,000 after buying an additional 335,260 shares in the last quarter. 27.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Simmons First National

In other Simmons First National news, Director Steven A. Cosse purchased 13,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $18.50 per share, for a total transaction of $249,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 104,120 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,926,220. This represents a 14.90% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Steenberg Christopher J. Van bought 13,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $18.50 per share, for a total transaction of $249,750.00. Following the purchase, the chief operating officer owned 13,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $249,750. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders acquired 89,555 shares of company stock worth $1,656,768. 1.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Simmons First National Trading Up 0.1%

NASDAQ:SFNC opened at $19.68 on Friday. Simmons First National Corporation has a 52-week low of $17.20 and a 52-week high of $25.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.13. The company has a market capitalization of $2.80 billion, a PE ratio of 15.50 and a beta of 0.92.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $214.18 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $217.21 million. Simmons First National had a return on equity of 5.23% and a net margin of 11.19%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.33 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Simmons First National Corporation will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Simmons First National Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th were paid a dividend of $0.2125 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $0.85 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.32%. Simmons First National’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SFNC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Simmons First National from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Stephens dropped their target price on Simmons First National from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Simmons First National from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Piper Sandler raised Simmons First National from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Simmons First National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.75.

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.