62,600 Shares in Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC) Purchased by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 62,600 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $1,242,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System owned about 0.05% of Simmons First National as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new stake in Simmons First National in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $81,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Simmons First National by 1,314.8% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 12,875 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $218,000 after purchasing an additional 11,965 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Simmons First National in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $219,000. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Simmons First National by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,590 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $230,000 after purchasing an additional 1,590 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Simmons First National by 978.8% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 13,323 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $264,000 after purchasing an additional 12,088 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.58% of the company’s stock.

Simmons First National Price Performance

SFNC stock opened at $18.49 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $18.77 and a 200-day moving average of $17.97. Simmons First National Co. has a 12-month low of $13.36 and a 12-month high of $20.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company has a market cap of $2.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.40 and a beta of 0.87.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The bank reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.05. Simmons First National had a net margin of 12.82% and a return on equity of 6.19%. The company had revenue of $197.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $204.25 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.64 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Simmons First National Co. will post 1.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SFNC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Simmons First National from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Simmons First National from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th.

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.