New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 17,500 Shares of Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC)

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 cut its position in shares of Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC - Free Report) by 31.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund 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 reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,866,647 shares of the bank's stock valued at $329,742,000 after purchasing an additional 630,376 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Simmons First National by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,616,599 shares of the bank's stock valued at $168,938,000 after buying an additional 51,468 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Simmons First National during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,095,000. FJ Capital Management LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $24,487,000 after acquiring an additional 286,622 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 335,260 shares in the last quarter. 27.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Simmons First National Stock Performance

SFNC traded down $0.10 on Monday, hitting $19.59. The company had a trading volume of 485,245 shares, compared to its average volume of 824,263. 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's fifty day moving average price is $19.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.11. The stock has a market cap of $2.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.42 and a beta of 0.92. Simmons First National Corporation has a 1-year low of $17.20 and a 1-year high of $25.95.

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

Simmons First National Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th were given a $0.2125 dividend. This represents a $0.85 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. Simmons First National's dividend payout ratio is currently 66.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on SFNC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target 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. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Simmons First National from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler upgraded Simmons First National from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $20.00 to $21.00 in a report on Monday, April 21st. Stephens reduced their target price on Simmons First National from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Simmons First National from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $22.75.

Insider Transactions at Simmons First National

In other Simmons First National news, Director Steven A. Cosse purchased 13,500 shares of the 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 acquisition, the director directly owned 104,120 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,926,220. This represents a 14.90% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Charles Daniel Hobbs purchased 5,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $18.50 per share, for a total transaction of $99,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,213 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $188,940.50. This trade represents a 112.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have purchased 89,555 shares of company stock worth $1,656,768. 1.91% of the stock is currently 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.