Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Simmons First National Corporation $SFNC

Key Points

• Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Simmons First National Corporation by 7.9%, now holding approximately 0.46% of the company valued at $11.89 million.
• Insider transactions saw CFO Charles Daniel Hobbs and CEO George Makris, Jr. significantly increase their holdings, with Hobbs acquiring a 112.20% increase and Makris a 1,903.39% increase in shares bought at $18.50 each.
• Simmons First National reported earnings of $0.44 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, with a year-over-year revenue growth of 8.6%, despite missing revenue estimates.

Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC reduced its position in Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC - Free Report) by 7.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 578,986 shares of the bank's stock after selling 49,334 shares during the quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.46% of Simmons First National worth $11,887,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Simmons First National by 119.9% during the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 3,483,147 shares of the bank's stock valued at $71,509,000 after buying an additional 1,899,407 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Simmons First National by 140.6% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,518,806 shares of the bank's stock valued at $31,181,000 after acquiring an additional 887,603 shares during the period. FJ Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Simmons First National by 35.1% during the fourth quarter. FJ Capital Management LLC now owns 1,104,008 shares of the bank's stock valued at $24,487,000 after purchasing an additional 286,622 shares during the last quarter. Rhino Investment Partners Inc purchased a new stake in Simmons First National during the fourth quarter valued at about $19,531,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Simmons First National by 2.7% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 691,328 shares of the bank's stock worth $14,193,000 after purchasing an additional 17,888 shares during the period. 27.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Simmons First National

In other Simmons First National news, CFO Charles Daniel Hobbs acquired 5,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were 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 chief financial officer owned 10,213 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $188,940.50. This represents a 112.20% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO George Makris, Jr. acquired 28,075 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $18.50 per share, with a total value of $519,387.50. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 29,550 shares of the company's stock, valued at $546,675. This trade represents a 1,903.39% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have purchased 100,755 shares of company stock valued at $1,865,332. Corporate insiders own 1.44% of the company's stock.

Simmons First National Price Performance

SFNC stock opened at $20.86 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $19.49 and a 200-day moving average of $19.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.43 and a beta of 0.95. Simmons First National Corporation has a 12 month low of $17.20 and a 12 month high of $25.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SFNC has been the topic of several research reports. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Simmons First National from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Simmons First National from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Zacks Research raised shares of Simmons First National from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price 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. One research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Simmons First National presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.

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