Simmons First National Corporation $SFNC Shares Sold by Rhumbline Advisers

Key Points

• Rhumbline Advisers has reduced its stake in Simmons First National Corporation by 3.7%, selling 14,067 shares and retaining a total of 367,046 shares valued at approximately $7.54 million.
• Despite the reduction by Rhumbline, other institutional investors such as Cetera Investment Advisers and Deutsche Bank AG increased their holdings by up to 51.1% in the last quarter, showcasing continued investor interest in Simmons First National.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.2125 per share, translating to an annualized yield of 4.1%, with the payout scheduled for October 1st to shareholders on record as of September 15th.

Rhumbline Advisers trimmed its position in Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC - Free Report) by 3.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 367,046 shares of the bank's stock after selling 14,067 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned 0.29% of Simmons First National worth $7,535,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Simmons First National in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. SouthState Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Simmons First National in the first quarter valued at about $71,000. Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 92.2% in the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,072 shares of the bank's stock valued at $84,000 after buying an additional 1,953 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 99.0% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,625 shares of the bank's stock valued at $95,000 after buying an additional 2,301 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its stake 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 buying an additional 1,140 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.58% of the company's stock.

Simmons First National Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SFNC traded down $0.18 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $20.48. 459,966 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 680,736. 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.54. Simmons First National Corporation has a 52 week low of $17.20 and a 52 week high of $25.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.13 and a beta of 0.97.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $214.18 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $217.21 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.33 EPS. Simmons First National's quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Simmons First National Corporation will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Simmons First National Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.2125 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $0.85 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. Simmons First National's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on SFNC. DA Davidson increased their target price on Simmons First National from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Zacks Research upgraded Simmons First National from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Simmons First National from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Simmons First National from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. One 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $22.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Charles Daniel Hobbs purchased 5,400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $18.50 per share, with a total value of $99,900.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer owned 10,213 shares in the company, valued at approximately $188,940.50. This trade represents a 112.20% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Russell William Teubner bought 9,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost 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 $990,956.40. This represents a 20.90% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have purchased 100,755 shares of company stock worth $1,865,332. 1.91% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.