Graham Capital Management L.P. Takes $1.44 Million Position in Simmons First National Corporation $SFNC

Key Points

• Graham Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in Simmons First National Corporation, purchasing 70,322 shares for approximately $1.44 million in the first quarter, representing about 0.06% ownership.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Simmons First National, with Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increasing their target to $22.00 and Zacks Research upgrading the rating from "hold" to "strong-buy."
• The company reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.44, exceeding expectations and showing an 8.6% year-over-year increase in revenue, despite having a slightly lower revenue than consensus estimates.

Graham Capital Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 70,322 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $1,444,000. Graham Capital Management L.P. owned about 0.06% of Simmons First National at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SFNC. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Simmons First National during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. SouthState Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Simmons First National during the 1st quarter valued at about $71,000. Quarry LP lifted 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 during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 99.0% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,625 shares of the bank's stock valued at $95,000 after acquiring an additional 2,301 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Simmons First National in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $114,000. 27.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SFNC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Simmons First National from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Zacks Research raised Simmons First National from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Wall Street Zen raised Simmons First National from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price objective on Simmons First National from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Simmons First National presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $22.75.

Simmons First National Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SFNC opened at $20.76 on Wednesday. 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 business's 50 day moving average is $19.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.62. The company has a market cap of $3.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.35 and a beta of 0.97. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $214.18 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $217.21 million. Simmons First National had a return on equity of 5.23% and a net margin of 11.19%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.33 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Simmons First National Corporation will post 1.66 EPS for the current year.

Simmons First National Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $0.2125 dividend. This represents a $0.85 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. Simmons First National's dividend payout ratio is currently 66.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Simmons First National news, Director Steven A. Cosse purchased 13,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $18.50 per share, with a total value of $249,750.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 104,120 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,926,220. This represents a 14.90% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Charles Daniel Hobbs purchased 5,400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $18.50 per share, for a total transaction of $99,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 10,213 shares in the company, valued at approximately $188,940.50. This trade represents a 112.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders purchased 100,755 shares of company stock worth $1,865,332. 1.91% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.

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