Rafferty Asset Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC - Free Report) by 13.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 116,670 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 14,105 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC owned 0.09% of Simmons First National worth $2,588,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Simmons First National in the fourth quarter worth about $27,095,000. Rhino Investment Partners Inc purchased a new position in Simmons First National in the 4th quarter worth approximately $19,531,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Simmons First National by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,866,647 shares of the bank's stock worth $329,742,000 after purchasing an additional 630,376 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Simmons First National by 49.6% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,011,431 shares of the bank's stock valued at $22,434,000 after buying an additional 335,260 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FJ Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 286,622 shares during the last quarter. 27.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Simmons First National from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Piper Sandler raised Simmons First National from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $20.00 to $21.00 in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Stephens dropped their price target on 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 Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:SFNC traded down $0.09 during trading on Friday, hitting $18.80. The company had a trading volume of 510,322 shares, compared to its average volume of 613,482. The stock has a market cap of $2.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.54 and a beta of 0.91. Simmons First National Co. has a one year low of $16.03 and a one year high of $25.95. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

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

Simmons First National Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $0.2125 dividend. This represents a $0.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.52%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Simmons First National's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.28%.

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.