Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 20,166 Shares of Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC)

Victory Capital Management Inc. decreased its holdings in Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC) by 4.7% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 405,824 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 20,166 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Simmons First National were worth $8,741,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Versor Investments LP purchased a new stake in Simmons First National during the third quarter valued at $952,000. Jag Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Simmons First National by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 119,236 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,568,000 after purchasing an additional 1,431 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its position in shares of Simmons First National by 13.7% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 4,129 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 497 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Simmons First National by 4.4% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 646,325 shares of the bank’s stock worth $13,922,000 after purchasing an additional 27,479 shares during the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Simmons First National by 18.2% during the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,466 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $355,000 after purchasing an additional 2,531 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Simmons First National

In related news, Chairman George Makris, Jr. sold 25,440 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.21, for a total value of $641,342.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 608,347 shares in the company, valued at $15,336,427.87. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Robert A. Fehlman sold 15,270 shares of Simmons First National stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.02, for a total value of $366,785.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 156,357 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,755,695.14. This trade represents a 8.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 45,800 shares of company stock worth $1,136,650. Corporate insiders own 1.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SFNC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Simmons First National from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Stephens upgraded Simmons First National from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $27.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Monday, October 21st. StockNews.com raised shares of Simmons First National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Simmons First National from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $23.00.

Simmons First National Price Performance

SFNC stock opened at $24.20 on Friday. Simmons First National Co. has a 52-week low of $15.72 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 0.40. The stock has a market cap of $3.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.64 and a beta of 0.86. The business has a fifty day moving average of $22.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $20.19.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The bank reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $203.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $204.91 million. Simmons First National had a net margin of 8.94% and a return on equity of 5.15%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.39 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Simmons First National Co. will post 1.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Simmons First National Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Simmons First National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.35%.

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.