Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Lowers Holdings in Simmons First National Corporation $SFNC

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP holds a $155.57 million stock position in Simmons First National Corporation, owning approximately 6.02% of the company's shares after reducing its holdings by 0.5% in the 1st quarter.
• Simmons First National reported $0.44 earnings per share in its latest quarterly earnings, surpassing analysts' estimates of $0.40, with a revenue of $214.18 million, showing an 8.6% year-over-year increase.
• Institutional ownership in Simmons First National stands at 27.58%, with several other investors increasing their stakes, including LPL Financial LLC and Envestnet Asset Management Inc.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP trimmed its holdings in Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC - Free Report) by 0.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,577,729 shares of the bank's stock after selling 38,870 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 6.02% of Simmons First National worth $155,568,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Simmons First National by 2.7% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 691,328 shares of the bank's stock valued at $14,193,000 after buying an additional 17,888 shares during the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC raised its position in shares of Simmons First National by 7.7% in the first quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 14,738 shares of the bank's stock valued at $303,000 after buying an additional 1,056 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,140 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Simmons First National in the first quarter valued at about $1,086,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Simmons First National by 2,047.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 52,023 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,068,000 after buying an additional 49,601 shares during the last quarter. 27.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Simmons First National Trading Up 0.4%

SFNC stock traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $20.68. 763,220 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,025,927. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.28 and a beta of 0.95. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.69. Simmons First National Corporation has a 12-month low of $17.20 and a 12-month high of $25.95.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC - Get Free Report) last announced its 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. The company had revenue of $214.18 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $217.21 million. Simmons First National had a net margin of 11.19% and a return on equity of 5.23%. Simmons First National's revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.33 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Simmons First National Corporation will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Simmons First National

In related news, Director Russell William Teubner bought 9,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $18.62 per share, with a total value of $171,304.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 53,220 shares in the company, valued at $990,956.40. This represents a 20.90% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Steven A. Cosse acquired 13,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $18.50 per share, with a total value of $249,750.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 104,120 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,926,220. This trade represents a 14.90% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought a total of 100,755 shares of company stock valued at $1,865,332 over the last quarter. 1.91% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Simmons First National from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of 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 upped their price objective on shares of Simmons First National from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Simmons First National from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $22.75.

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.