Simmons First National Corporation $SFNC Shares Acquired by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC) by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,630,535 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 169,768 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 5.27% of Simmons First National worth $146,279,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Legato Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Simmons First National by 173.4% during the third quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 33,106 shares of the bank’s stock worth $635,000 after acquiring an additional 20,995 shares during the last quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its position in shares of Simmons First National by 11.8% during the 3rd quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 50,763 shares of the bank’s stock worth $973,000 after purchasing an additional 5,367 shares during the last quarter. EJF Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Simmons First National in the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,329,000. Rafferty Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Simmons First National by 43.8% in the third quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 151,857 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,911,000 after buying an additional 46,273 shares during the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Simmons First National during the third quarter worth about $240,000. 27.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Simmons First National Stock Performance

Shares of SFNC stock opened at $19.25 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $20.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $19.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.79 billion, a PE ratio of -6.95 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. Simmons First National Corporation has a 52 week low of $17.00 and a 52 week high of $22.17.

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

Simmons First National declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, February 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $175.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the bank to purchase up to 5.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Simmons First National Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a $0.215 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.5%. This is an increase from Simmons First National’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Simmons First National’s dividend payout ratio is -30.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Simmons First National from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Simmons First National from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Simmons First National from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Piper Sandler upgraded Simmons First National from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Simmons First National in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Three equities 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 issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Simmons First National presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.43.

Simmons First National Company 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.