Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Purchases 4,440 Shares of Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 205,479 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 4,440 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Simmons First National were worth $4,558,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Natixis Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Simmons First National during the 3rd quarter valued at $336,000. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Simmons First National during the third quarter valued at about $677,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 3.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,866,142 shares of the bank’s stock worth $40,197,000 after buying an additional 65,992 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 20.1% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 214,944 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,630,000 after acquiring an additional 36,024 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP lifted its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 30.0% in the 3rd quarter. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP now owns 24,845 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $535,000 after acquiring an additional 5,739 shares during the last quarter. 27.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Simmons First National Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SFNC opened at $20.39 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $21.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.47. The company has a market cap of $2.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.85 and a beta of 0.84. Simmons First National Co. has a 12 month low of $16.03 and a 12 month high of $25.95.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.03. Simmons First National had a return on equity of 5.10% and a net margin of 10.46%. The business had revenue of $208.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $208.67 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.40 EPS. Simmons First National’s quarterly revenue was up 17.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Simmons First National Co. will post 1.66 EPS for the current year.

Simmons First National Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.2125 dividend. This is a positive change from Simmons First National’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.17%. Simmons First National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Stephens decreased their price target on Simmons First National from $29.00 to $28.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd.

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.