Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC) CEO Sells $366,785.40 in Stock

Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC) CEO Robert A. Fehlman sold 15,270 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.02, for a total transaction of $366,785.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 156,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,755,695.14. This represents a 8.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Simmons First National Stock Performance

Simmons First National stock opened at $24.83 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $22.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Simmons First National Co. has a 1-year low of $15.72 and a 1-year high of $25.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.12 billion, a PE ratio of 24.34 and a beta of 0.86.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The bank reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $203.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $204.91 million. Simmons First National had a return on equity of 5.15% and a net margin of 8.94%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.39 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Simmons First National Co. will post 1.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Simmons First National Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Simmons First National’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.35%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Simmons First National

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SFNC. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Simmons First National by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,992,851 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $64,478,000 after buying an additional 37,519 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Simmons First National by 131.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 247,821 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,337,000 after acquiring an additional 140,738 shares during the last quarter. Dean Investment Associates LLC raised its position in Simmons First National by 231.6% during the third quarter. Dean Investment Associates LLC now owns 137,352 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,959,000 after purchasing an additional 95,928 shares in the last quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd bought a new stake in Simmons First National during the third quarter worth about $269,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in Simmons First National by 43.4% during the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 158,099 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,405,000 after purchasing an additional 47,820 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Simmons First National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Simmons First National from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Stephens upgraded Simmons First National from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $27.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Monday, October 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $23.00.

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.