Denali Advisors LLC Buys New Holdings in Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC)

Denali Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 183,800 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $3,577,000. Denali Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.15% of Simmons First National at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Simmons First National by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 13,984 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $277,000 after acquiring an additional 1,043 shares during the period. Jag Capital Management LLC grew its position in Simmons First National by 1.1% in the third quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 121,073 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,053,000 after acquiring an additional 1,330 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in Simmons First National in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Simmons First National by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,590 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $230,000 after acquiring an additional 1,590 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Simmons First National by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 532,415 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $10,563,000 after acquiring an additional 2,415 shares during the period. 27.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SFNC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Simmons First National from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. StockNews.com cut Simmons First National from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Stephens decreased their price target on Simmons First National from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.00.

Insider Transactions at Simmons First National

In related news, EVP George A. Makris III sold 15,625 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.23, for a total transaction of $269,218.75. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 39,707 shares in the company, valued at approximately $684,151.61. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.91% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Simmons First National Stock Down 1.9 %

Simmons First National stock traded down $0.33 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $17.30. The stock had a trading volume of 248,312 shares, compared to its average volume of 481,280. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $17.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.40. Simmons First National Co. has a 1-year low of $13.36 and a 1-year high of $20.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.26 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32. The firm had revenue of $195.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $202.35 million. Simmons First National had a return on equity of 5.94% and a net margin of 11.97%. The business’s revenue was down 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.37 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Simmons First National Co. will post 1.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Simmons First National Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.86%. Simmons First National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.16%.

Simmons First National 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.