Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 284,908 Shares of Simmons First National Corporation $SFNC

Vanguard Group Inc. cut its position in shares of Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC) by 1.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,581,739 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 284,908 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 11.58% of Simmons First National worth $299,363,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Simmons First National by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 691,328 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,193,000 after purchasing an additional 17,888 shares in the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 14,738 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $303,000 after acquiring an additional 1,056 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 18.7% in the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,231 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $148,000 after acquiring an additional 1,140 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Simmons First National in the 1st quarter valued at $1,086,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 2,047.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 52,023 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,068,000 after acquiring an additional 49,601 shares during the period. 27.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Simmons First National Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of SFNC stock opened at $19.83 on Monday. Simmons First National Corporation has a 1-year low of $17.20 and a 1-year high of $25.95. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $19.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company has a market cap of $2.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.61 and a beta of 0.95.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.04. Simmons First National had a return on equity of 5.23% and a net margin of 11.19%. The firm had revenue of $214.18 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $217.21 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.33 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Simmons First National Corporation will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Simmons First National from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Simmons First National from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stephens cut their price target 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded Simmons First National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded Simmons First National from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $20.00 to $21.00 in a report on Monday, April 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.75.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Charles Daniel Hobbs purchased 5,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $18.50 per share, for a total transaction of $99,900.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 10,213 shares in the company, valued at $188,940.50. This trade represents a 112.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Russell William Teubner purchased 9,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $18.62 per share, for a total transaction of $171,304.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 53,220 shares in the company, valued at approximately $990,956.40. The trade was a 20.90% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought 100,755 shares of company stock worth $1,865,332 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.44% of the company’s stock.

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.