Penn Capital Management Company LLC Makes New Investment in Simmons First National Corporation $SFNC

Key Points

• Penn Capital Management initiated a position in Simmons First National, buying 661,760 shares worth about $15.0 million, or approximately 0.46% of the company.
• Simmons First National reported quarterly EPS of $0.54, beating estimates by $0.01; revenue rose 8% year over year to $251.2 million, slightly below forecasts.
• The bank’s quarterly dividend of $0.215 per share equates to $0.86 annually and a 3.6% yield. Analysts’ consensus rating was “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $25.69.

Penn Capital Management Company LLC bought a new position in shares of Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 661,760 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $14,958,000. Penn Capital Management Company LLC owned approximately 0.46% of Simmons First National as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SFNC. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP grew its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 734.7% in the third quarter. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP now owns 2,070 shares of the bank's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 1,822 shares in the last quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP acquired a new stake in Simmons First National in the 3rd quarter worth about $45,000. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in Simmons First National by 38.8% in the 3rd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 445,896 shares of the bank's stock worth $10,068,000 after purchasing an additional 124,531 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Simmons First National in the 3rd quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Simmons First National by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,116 shares of the bank's stock worth $117,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.58% of the company's stock.

Simmons First National Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of NASDAQ SFNC opened at $23.80 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. Simmons First National Corporation has a 52 week low of $17.20 and a 52 week high of $24.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.53 and a beta of 0.94. The stock's fifty day moving average is $22.89 and its 200 day moving average is $21.83.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 15th. The bank reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $251.17 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $254.03 million. Simmons First National had a net margin of 18.38% and a return on equity of 8.73%. Simmons First National's revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.46 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Simmons First National Corporation will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Simmons First National Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were given a $0.2150 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $0.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Simmons First National's payout ratio is presently 48.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on SFNC shares. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Simmons First National from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Piper Sandler raised shares of Simmons First National from an "underweight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $26.00 to $27.50 in a report on Friday, September 4th. National Bank Financial set a $26.00 price target on shares of Simmons First National in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Simmons First National from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price target on Simmons First National from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Simmons First National presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $25.69.

About Simmons First National

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