Intech Investment Management LLC Takes Position in Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC)

Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNCFree Report) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 31,417 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $677,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its holdings in Simmons First National by 3,808.6% in the 1st quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 95,839 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,865,000 after acquiring an additional 93,387 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 113,111.0% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 82,644 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,453,000 after purchasing an additional 82,571 shares in the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP bought a new position in Simmons First National in the second quarter worth $479,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Simmons First National by 6.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,323,934 shares of the bank’s stock worth $128,752,000 after purchasing an additional 413,459 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Simmons First National by 4.4% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 646,325 shares of the bank’s stock worth $13,922,000 after buying an additional 27,479 shares in the last quarter. 27.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Simmons First National Stock Performance

Shares of Simmons First National stock opened at $24.46 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The company has a market capitalization of $3.07 billion, a PE ratio of 23.98 and a beta of 0.86. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $23.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.52. Simmons First National Co. has a 12 month low of $15.85 and a 12 month high of $25.95.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNCGet Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The bank reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.04. Simmons First National had a net margin of 8.94% and a return on equity of 5.15%. The company had revenue of $203.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $204.91 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.39 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Simmons First National Co. will post 1.33 EPS for the current year.

Simmons First National Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Simmons First National’s payout ratio is currently 82.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Simmons First National news, CEO Robert A. Fehlman sold 15,270 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.02, for a total transaction of $366,785.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 156,357 shares in the company, valued at $3,755,695.14. This trade represents a 8.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO David W. Garner sold 5,090 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.25, for a total transaction of $128,522.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 64,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,640,391.50. This represents a 7.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 45,800 shares of company stock worth $1,136,650. Company insiders own 1.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on SFNC shares. Stephens upgraded Simmons First National from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $27.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Monday, October 21st. StockNews.com upgraded Simmons First National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $23.00.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Simmons First National

Simmons First National Profile

(Free Report)

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.

Read More

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SFNC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNCFree Report).

Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC)

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