Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Purchases New Position in Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 20,850 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $462,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of SFNC. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its position in Simmons First National by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 27,396 shares of the bank's stock worth $613,000 after acquiring an additional 1,049 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Simmons First National by 28.5% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 235,147 shares of the bank's stock worth $5,216,000 after purchasing an additional 52,089 shares during the period. iSAM Funds UK Ltd lifted its position in Simmons First National by 33.9% during the fourth quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd now owns 16,729 shares of the bank's stock valued at $371,000 after purchasing an additional 4,234 shares in the last quarter. Twinbeech Capital LP bought a new stake in Simmons First National during the fourth quarter valued at about $226,000. Finally, Scissortail Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Simmons First National by 1,045,033.3% in the fourth quarter. Scissortail Wealth Management LLC now owns 31,354 shares of the bank's stock worth $695,000 after buying an additional 31,351 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.58% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SFNC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Simmons First National from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Simmons First National from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Stephens reduced their price objective on shares of Simmons First National from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st.

Simmons First National Price Performance

Shares of SFNC traded down $0.30 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $18.55. 379,683 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 615,995. The stock has a market cap of $2.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.33 and a beta of 0.91. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $18.90 and a 200-day moving average of $21.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. Simmons First National Co. has a 52 week low of $16.03 and a 52 week high of $25.95.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The bank reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $209.58 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $209.00 million. Simmons First National had a net margin of 10.46% and a return on equity of 5.10%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.32 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Simmons First National Co. will post 1.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Simmons First National Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $0.2125 dividend. This represents a $0.85 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Simmons First National's dividend payout ratio is presently 73.28%.

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.