Fisher Asset Management LLC Sells 584,022 Shares of Simmons First National Corporation $SFNC

Fisher Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC) by 74.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 202,693 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 584,022 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned 0.14% of Simmons First National worth $3,886,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of SFNC. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Simmons First National by 197.5% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,663 shares of the bank’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,104 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 42.5% in the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,175 shares of the bank’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 649 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in Simmons First National by 32.0% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,658 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 644 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Simmons First National by 24.3% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,260 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 834 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its position in Simmons First National by 68.4% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 5,938 shares of the bank’s stock worth $114,000 after buying an additional 2,412 shares during the last quarter. 27.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SFNC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. DA Davidson upped their price target on Simmons First National from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Raymond James Financial upgraded Simmons First National from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $23.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Simmons First National from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler raised shares of Simmons First National from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised shares of Simmons First National from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.43.

Simmons First National Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of SFNC opened at $20.03 on Friday. Simmons First National Corporation has a twelve month low of $17.00 and a twelve month high of $22.17. The stock has a market cap of $2.90 billion, a PE ratio of -7.23 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $20.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.49.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 20th. The bank reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.05. Simmons First National had a negative net margin of 27.83% and a positive return on equity of 6.73%. The company had revenue of $249.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $238.68 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.39 earnings per share. Simmons First National’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Simmons First National Corporation will post 1.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Simmons First National Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a $0.215 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This is an increase from Simmons First National’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. Simmons First National’s payout ratio is currently -30.69%.

Simmons First National declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, February 17th that allows the company to repurchase $175.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the bank to purchase up to 5.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Simmons First National Profile

Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC) is a bank holding company headquartered in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Through its primary operating subsidiary, Simmons Bank, the company maintains a network of more than 200 branches across Arkansas, Tennessee, Missouri, Mississippi, Texas, Oklahoma and North Carolina. Simmons First National offers a full suite of financial services to individuals, small businesses and commercial clients, emphasizing relationship-driven community banking.

The company’s core business activities span deposit-taking, lending and payment services.