Dean Capital Management Trims Stock Holdings in Simmons First National Corporation $SFNC

Key Points

• Dean Capital Management has reduced its stake in Simmons First National Corporation by 18.9%, selling 16,980 shares in the first quarter, leaving them with 72,833 shares valued at around $1.5 million.
• Insider transactions have seen COO Christopher J. Van and Director Steven A. Cosse each buy 13,500 shares at $18.50 per share, representing significant increases in their ownership.
• Simmons First National recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.2125 per share, set to be paid on October 1st, 2023, reflecting a 4.1% dividend yield.

Dean Capital Management lowered its stake in Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC - Free Report) by 18.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 72,833 shares of the bank's stock after selling 16,980 shares during the quarter. Dean Capital Management owned approximately 0.06% of Simmons First National worth $1,495,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SFNC. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in Simmons First National in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. SouthState Corp purchased a new position in shares of Simmons First National during the 1st quarter valued at about $71,000. Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 92.2% during the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,072 shares of the bank's stock valued at $84,000 after buying an additional 1,953 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its position in Simmons First National by 99.0% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,625 shares of the bank's stock worth $95,000 after acquiring an additional 2,301 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its position in Simmons First National by 18.7% during the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,231 shares of the bank's stock worth $148,000 after acquiring an additional 1,140 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.58% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on SFNC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Simmons First National from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Simmons First National from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Simmons First National from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Simmons First National from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $22.75.

Simmons First National Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of SFNC stock traded down $0.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $20.48. The company's stock had a trading volume of 459,966 shares, compared to its average volume of 839,236. Simmons First National Corporation has a 52-week low of $17.20 and a 52-week high of $25.95. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $20.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market cap of $2.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.13 and a beta of 0.97.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.04. Simmons First National had a return on equity of 5.23% and a net margin of 11.19%.The firm had revenue of $214.18 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $217.21 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.33 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Simmons First National Corporation will post 1.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Simmons First National Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.2125 per share. This represents a $0.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Simmons First National's dividend payout ratio is 66.93%.

Insider Activity at Simmons First National

In other news, Director Marty Casteel acquired 5,400 shares of Simmons First National stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $18.50 per share, for a total transaction of $99,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 213,901 shares in the company, valued at $3,957,168.50. The trade was a 2.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Charles Daniel Hobbs acquired 5,400 shares of Simmons First National stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $18.50 per share, with a total value of $99,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 10,213 shares of the company's stock, valued at $188,940.50. The trade was a 112.20% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought 100,755 shares of company stock valued at $1,865,332 in the last 90 days. 1.44% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.