Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Buys 15,053 Shares of Simmons First National Corporation $SFNC

Key Points

• The Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its holdings in Simmons First National Corporation by 12.4% during the second quarter, owning approximately $2.58 million worth of stock after acquiring 15,053 shares.
• In addition to institutional investments, insider transactions included Director Russell William Teubner purchasing 9,200 shares and COO Steenberg Christopher J. Van buying 13,500 shares of the company, indicating confidence in the bank's performance.
• Simmons First National recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.2125 per share, with an annualized yield of 4.4%, reflecting a healthy payout ratio of 66.93%.

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its stake in shares of Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC - Free Report) by 12.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 136,519 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 15,053 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio owned approximately 0.11% of Simmons First National worth $2,588,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of SFNC. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 28.5% during 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 valued at $5,216,000 after purchasing an additional 52,089 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 2,047.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 52,023 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,068,000 after purchasing an additional 49,601 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Simmons First National during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,086,000. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC bought a new stake in shares of Simmons First National during the 1st quarter valued at about $298,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 1,263.3% during the 1st quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 7,621 shares of the bank's stock valued at $156,000 after purchasing an additional 7,062 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.58% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Russell William Teubner purchased 9,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $18.62 per share, for a total transaction of $171,304.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 53,220 shares in the company, valued at approximately $990,956.40. This trade represents a 20.90% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Steenberg Christopher J. Van purchased 13,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $18.50 per share, for a total transaction of $249,750.00. Following the purchase, the chief operating officer owned 13,500 shares in the company, valued at $249,750. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased a total of 100,755 shares of company stock worth $1,865,332 over the last quarter. 1.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Simmons First National Stock Performance

Shares of Simmons First National stock opened at $19.39 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $2.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.27 and a beta of 0.94. The firm's 50-day moving average is $19.97 and its 200 day moving average is $19.48. Simmons First National Corporation has a 1 year low of $17.20 and a 1 year high of $25.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

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

Simmons First National Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th were paid a $0.2125 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $0.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.4%. Simmons First National's payout ratio is presently 66.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Simmons First National from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Simmons First National from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Simmons First National from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Simmons First National from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Simmons First National currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $22.75.

Simmons First National Profile

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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