Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC) Shares Sold by New York State Common Retirement Fund

Key Points

• The New York State Common Retirement Fund reduced its stake in Simmons First National Corporation by 31.4%, owning 38,283 shares worth $786,000 after selling 17,500 shares in the 1st quarter.
• Insiders were active in buying shares, with Director Steven A. Cosse and COO Christopher J. Van Steenberg purchasing 13,500 shares each at an average price of $18.50, reflecting a growing confidence in the company's performance.
• Simmons First National reported an EPS of $0.44 for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, with revenues showing an 8.6% year-over-year increase despite slightly falling short of analyst revenue estimates.

New York State Common Retirement Fund trimmed its position in Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC - Free Report) by 31.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 38,283 shares of the bank's stock after selling 17,500 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund's holdings in Simmons First National were worth $786,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,866,647 shares of the bank's stock valued at $329,742,000 after buying an additional 630,376 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Simmons First National by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,616,599 shares of the bank's stock worth $168,938,000 after purchasing an additional 51,468 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Simmons First National during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,095,000. FJ Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Simmons First National by 35.1% during the 4th quarter. FJ Capital Management LLC now owns 1,104,008 shares of the bank's stock worth $24,487,000 after purchasing an additional 286,622 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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 worth $22,434,000 after purchasing an additional 335,260 shares during the last quarter. 27.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on SFNC shares. Piper Sandler upgraded Simmons First National from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $20.00 to $21.00 in a report on Monday, April 21st. Stephens dropped their price objective on Simmons First National from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Simmons First National from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Simmons First National from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Simmons First National from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $22.75.

Insider Activity

In other Simmons First National news, COO Steenberg Christopher J. Van bought 13,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $18.50 per share, with a total value of $249,750.00. Following the purchase, the chief operating officer directly owned 13,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $249,750. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Charles Daniel Hobbs bought 5,400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $18.50 per share, for a total transaction of $99,900.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,213 shares in the company, valued at $188,940.50. This represents a 112.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased 89,555 shares of company stock worth $1,656,768 over the last ninety days. 1.91% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Simmons First National Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SFNC traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $19.82. 71,519 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 825,328. Simmons First National Corporation has a twelve month low of $17.20 and a twelve month high of $25.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.60 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $19.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.10.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $214.18 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $217.21 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.33 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect 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 was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th were paid a dividend of $0.2125 per share. This represents a $0.85 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.29%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. Simmons First National's payout ratio is currently 66.93%.

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.