Raymond James Financial Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Simmons First National Corporation $SFNC

Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC - Free Report) by 234.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 153,661 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 107,752 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of Simmons First National worth $3,155,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in Simmons First National during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. SouthState Corp purchased a new position in Simmons First National during the first quarter worth approximately $71,000. CWM LLC boosted its position in Simmons First National by 99.0% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,625 shares of the bank's stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 2,301 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Simmons First National by 18.7% in the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,231 shares of the bank's stock valued at $148,000 after acquiring an additional 1,140 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of Simmons First National by 1,263.3% in the first quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 7,621 shares of the bank's stock valued at $156,000 after acquiring an additional 7,062 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.58% of the company's stock.

Simmons First National Stock Performance

SFNC traded down $0.02 on Thursday, reaching $20.51. The company had a trading volume of 210,383 shares, compared to its average volume of 838,538. Simmons First National Corporation has a 1 year low of $17.20 and a 1 year high of $25.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.97 billion, a PE ratio of 16.15 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $20.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.58.

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

Simmons First National Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.2125 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $0.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Simmons First National's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on SFNC shares. Zacks Research upgraded Simmons First National from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Simmons First National from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Simmons First National from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Simmons First National presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $22.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at Simmons First National

In other Simmons First National news, Director Steven A. Cosse bought 13,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $18.50 per share, for a total transaction of $249,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 104,120 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,926,220. The trade was a 14.90% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Russell William Teubner bought 9,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $18.62 per share, for a total transaction of $171,304.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 53,220 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $990,956.40. The trade was a 20.90% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders bought 100,755 shares of company stock valued at $1,865,332. 1.44% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Simmons First National Company 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.