UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC reduced its stake in shares of Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC) by 13.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 183,058 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 28,161 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned 0.15% of Simmons First National worth $3,943,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its stake in Simmons First National by 2,045.5% in the second quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 1,888 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 1,800 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of Simmons First National by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 4,129 shares of the bank’s stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 497 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Simmons First National by 29.0% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,648 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $100,000 after acquiring an additional 1,045 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Simmons First National by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,778 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $168,000 after acquiring an additional 403 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LMR Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Simmons First National during the 3rd quarter worth $205,000. 27.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Simmons First National

In other news, CEO Robert A. Fehlman sold 15,270 shares of Simmons First National stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.02, for a total value of $366,785.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 156,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,755,695.14. The trade was a 8.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO David W. Garner sold 5,090 shares of Simmons First National stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.25, for a total value of $128,522.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 64,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,640,391.50. The trade was a 7.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 45,800 shares of company stock valued at $1,136,650. 1.91% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Simmons First National Price Performance

Shares of SFNC opened at $23.93 on Friday. Simmons First National Co. has a fifty-two week low of $16.03 and a fifty-two week high of $25.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.00 billion, a PE ratio of 23.46 and a beta of 0.86. The company’s 50-day moving average is $23.73 and its 200-day moving average is $20.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The bank reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $203.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.39 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Simmons First National Co. will post 1.33 EPS for the current year.

Simmons First National Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Simmons First National’s payout ratio is 82.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

About Simmons First National

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.