State of Alaska Department of Revenue Purchases 5,298 Shares of Simmons First National Corporation $SFNC

State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its holdings in Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC) by 7.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 74,955 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,298 shares during the quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue owned approximately 0.06% of Simmons First National worth $1,420,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Steven A. Cosse acquired 13,500 shares of Simmons First National stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $18.50 per share, with a total value of $249,750.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 104,120 shares in the company, valued at $1,926,220. This trade represents a 14.90% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Russell William Teubner bought 9,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost 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 $990,956.40. The trade was a 20.90% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought 100,755 shares of company stock valued at $1,865,332 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Simmons First National in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. 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 report on Wednesday, July 23rd. 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. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Simmons First National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Simmons First National from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.75.

Simmons First National Stock Up 0.9%

SFNC stock opened at $19.40 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.28 and a beta of 0.94.

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

Simmons First National Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th were given a dividend of $0.2125 per share. This represents a $0.85 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. Simmons First National’s payout ratio is presently 66.93%.

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.