BNP Paribas Financial Markets Lowers Stock Position in Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets cut its holdings in Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC - Free Report) by 33.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,692 shares of the bank's stock after selling 13,602 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets' holdings in Simmons First National were worth $592,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SFNC. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Simmons First National in the 4th quarter valued at $27,095,000. Rhino Investment Partners Inc acquired a new stake in Simmons First National in the fourth quarter worth $19,531,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Simmons First National by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,866,647 shares of the bank's stock valued at $329,742,000 after purchasing an additional 630,376 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 49.6% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,011,431 shares of the bank's stock valued at $22,434,000 after purchasing an additional 335,260 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Simmons First National by 71.2% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 631,203 shares of the bank's stock worth $14,000,000 after purchasing an additional 262,529 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.58% of the company's stock.

Simmons First National Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of Simmons First National stock traded up $0.16 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $18.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 394,815 shares, compared to its average volume of 614,919. The company has a market capitalization of $2.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.61 and a beta of 0.91. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $19.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.39. Simmons First National Co. has a one year low of $16.03 and a one year high of $25.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The bank reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $209.58 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $209.00 million. Simmons First National had a return on equity of 5.10% and a net margin of 10.46%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.32 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Simmons First National Co. will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Simmons First National Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $0.2125 dividend. This represents a $0.85 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Simmons First National's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Simmons First National from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Stephens cut their price target on Simmons First National from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded Simmons First National from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $20.00 to $21.00 in a report on Monday, April 21st.

Simmons First National 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.