Inspire Investing LLC Sells 1,250 Shares of Simmons First National Corporation $SFNC

Inspire Investing LLC decreased its stake in shares of Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC) by 6.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,765 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 1,250 shares during the quarter. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in Simmons First National were worth $344,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SFNC. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its position in Simmons First National by 119.9% during the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 3,483,147 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $71,509,000 after purchasing an additional 1,899,407 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its position in Simmons First National by 1,179.6% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 969,027 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $19,894,000 after purchasing an additional 893,298 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 140.6% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,518,806 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $31,181,000 after buying an additional 887,603 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Simmons First National in the 1st quarter worth approximately $6,065,000. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC grew its position in shares of Simmons First National by 206.9% in the 1st quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 357,165 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,333,000 after buying an additional 240,803 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.58% of the company’s stock.

Simmons First National Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SFNC opened at $19.74 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $20.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.53. Simmons First National Corporation has a 1 year low of $17.20 and a 1 year high of $25.95. The company has a market capitalization of $2.86 billion, a PE ratio of 15.54 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80.

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

Simmons First National Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.2125 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $0.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.3%. Simmons First National’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Simmons First National from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Simmons First National from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Simmons First National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Simmons First National from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Simmons First National presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.75.

Insider Activity at Simmons First National

In related news, Director Russell William Teubner acquired 9,200 shares of Simmons First National stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $18.62 per share, for a total transaction of $171,304.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 53,220 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $990,956.40. The trade was a 20.90% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Steven A. Cosse acquired 13,500 shares of Simmons First National stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $18.50 per share, with a total value of $249,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 104,120 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,926,220. This trade represents a 14.90% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired a total of 100,755 shares of company stock valued at $1,865,332 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.91% of the company’s stock.

Simmons First National Company Profile

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.