Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC) Stock Position Boosted by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC - Free Report) by 2.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 691,328 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 17,888 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.55% of Simmons First National worth $14,193,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of SFNC. Jones Financial Companies Lllp acquired a new stake in shares of Simmons First National during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,895,477 shares of the bank's stock worth $42,042,000 after purchasing an additional 29,335 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Simmons First National during the fourth quarter worth $1,018,000. Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 186.4% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 63,295 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,381,000 after purchasing an additional 41,192 shares during the period. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Simmons First National during the fourth quarter worth $584,000. 27.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SFNC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Simmons First National from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Stephens lowered their price target on shares of Simmons First National from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, 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.

Simmons First National Stock Performance

Shares of Simmons First National stock traded up $0.05 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $19.49. 879,823 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 634,827. The stock's fifty day moving average is $19.23 and its 200 day moving average is $20.24. The stock has a market cap of $2.45 billion, a PE ratio of 16.80 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. 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 Wednesday, April 16th. The bank reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $209.58 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $209.00 million. Simmons First National had a net margin of 10.10% and a return on equity of 4.86%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.32 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Simmons First National Corporation will post 1.66 EPS for the current year.

Simmons First National Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th were given a $0.2125 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $0.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.36%. 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.