Connors Investor Services Inc. Boosts Holdings in Simmons First National Corporation $SFNC

Key Points

• Connors Investor Services Inc. increased its holdings in Simmons First National Corporation (SFNC) by 29.5%, owning approximately $2.53 million worth of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 30,404 shares.
• Simmons First National reported Q3 earnings of $0.46 per share, missing expectations slightly while generating revenue of $232.54 million, a 14.4% increase compared to the previous year.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.2125 per share, yielding approximately 4.8%, despite having a negative payout ratio of -29.01%.

Connors Investor Services Inc. boosted its position in Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC - Free Report) by 29.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 133,504 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 30,404 shares during the period. Connors Investor Services Inc. owned approximately 0.09% of Simmons First National worth $2,531,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SFNC. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Simmons First National by 35.2% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,426 shares of the bank's stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 892 shares during the last quarter. SouthState Corp acquired a new stake in Simmons First National in the first quarter valued at $71,000. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in Simmons First National by 92.2% in the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,072 shares of the bank's stock valued at $84,000 after acquiring an additional 1,953 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Simmons First National by 99.0% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,625 shares of the bank's stock valued at $95,000 after acquiring an additional 2,301 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Simmons First National by 18.7% in the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,231 shares of the bank's stock valued at $148,000 after acquiring an additional 1,140 shares during the period. 27.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Simmons First National Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of SFNC stock opened at $17.75 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $19.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.31. Simmons First National Corporation has a twelve month low of $17.20 and a twelve month high of $25.95. The company has a market capitalization of $2.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.06 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The bank reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.47 by ($0.01). Simmons First National had a negative net margin of 29.70% and a positive return on equity of 5.84%. The firm had revenue of $232.54 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $103.26 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.37 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Simmons First National Corporation will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Simmons First National Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th were paid a $0.2125 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $0.85 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.8%. Simmons First National's payout ratio is presently -29.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on SFNC shares. DA Davidson raised their target price on Simmons First National from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Simmons First National from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Wall Street Zen raised Simmons First National from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Zacks Research downgraded Simmons First National from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Simmons First National in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $22.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Russell William Teubner bought 9,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $18.62 per share, with a total value of $171,304.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 53,220 shares of the company's stock, valued at $990,956.40. This trade represents a 20.90% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.44% 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.

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