Peregrine Capital Management LLC Has $6.07 Million Position in Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC)

Peregrine Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 273,600 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 9,869 shares during the quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Simmons First National were worth $6,068,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 12,581 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $279,000 after purchasing an additional 751 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Simmons First National by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 673,440 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,937,000 after buying an additional 27,115 shares in the last quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Simmons First National by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 56,476 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,253,000 after buying an additional 2,650 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 356,500 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,907,000 after acquiring an additional 17,358 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 249.7% during the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 13,598 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $302,000 after acquiring an additional 9,710 shares during the last quarter. 27.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Simmons First National Stock Up 0.4 %

SFNC stock opened at $22.57 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The company has a 50-day moving average of $22.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.65 and a beta of 0.86. Simmons First National Co. has a 52-week low of $16.03 and a 52-week high of $25.95.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $0.39 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $208.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $208.67 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.40 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 17.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Simmons First National Co. will post 1.66 EPS for the current year.

Simmons First National Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.2125 per share. This is a boost from Simmons First National’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.85 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Simmons First National’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Stephens reduced their target price on Simmons First National from $29.00 to $28.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report 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.