Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC) CAO Sells $128,522.50 in Stock

Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC) CAO David W. Garner sold 5,090 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.25, for a total transaction of $128,522.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 64,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,640,391.50. This trade represents a 7.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Simmons First National Stock Performance

Shares of SFNC stock opened at $24.49 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $22.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.08 billion, a PE ratio of 24.01 and a beta of 0.86. Simmons First National Co. has a 52-week low of $15.72 and a 52-week high of $25.95.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The bank reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.04. Simmons First National had a return on equity of 5.15% and a net margin of 8.94%. The company had revenue of $203.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $204.91 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.39 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.43%. Simmons First National’s payout ratio is currently 82.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SFNC. StockNews.com raised Simmons First National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Simmons First National from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Simmons First National from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Stephens upgraded shares of Simmons First National from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $27.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Monday, October 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $23.00.

Institutional Trading of Simmons First National

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SFNC. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 161.0% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,843 shares of the bank’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,137 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in Simmons First National by 2,045.5% in the 2nd quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 1,888 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its position in 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 period. KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 29.0% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,648 shares of the bank’s stock worth $100,000 after buying an additional 1,045 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,778 shares of the bank’s stock worth $168,000 after buying an additional 403 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.58% of the company’s stock.

Simmons First National Company 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.