Connors Investor Services Inc. Sells 39,962 Shares of Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC)

Connors Investor Services Inc. decreased its position in Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC) by 26.0% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 113,859 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 39,962 shares during the quarter. Connors Investor Services Inc.’s holdings in Simmons First National were worth $2,216,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Simmons First National in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. TFO Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 250,150.0% during the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 10,010 shares of the bank’s stock worth $199,000 after purchasing an additional 10,006 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Simmons First National in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $227,000. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,590 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Simmons First National during the first quarter worth $252,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.58% of the company’s stock.

Simmons First National Stock Performance

Simmons First National stock traded up $0.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $20.75. 573,417 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 626,100. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $17.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.31. Simmons First National Co. has a fifty-two week low of $13.36 and a fifty-two week high of $21.58. The stock has a market cap of $2.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.60 and a beta of 0.89.

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

Simmons First National Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.05%. Simmons First National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Simmons First National from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Stephens cut their target price on shares of Simmons First National from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Simmons First National from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.00.

Insider Transactions at Simmons First National

In other news, EVP George A. Makris III sold 15,625 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 39,707 shares in the company, valued at $684,151.61. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.91% of the company’s stock.

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.