American Century Companies Inc. Sells 122,154 Shares of Simmons First National Corporation $SFNC

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. reduced its stake in Simmons First National Corporation by 22.6%, selling 122,154 shares and now holds approximately 0.33% of the company, valued at $8.6 million.
• Insider transactions include Director Steven A. Cosse purchasing 13,500 shares, increasing his ownership by 14.9%, while Director Russell William Teubner bought 9,200 shares, marking a 20.9% increase in his holdings.
• Simmons First National's share price recently opened at $20.68, with a one-year high of $25.95, and reported earnings of $0.44 per share, beating estimates by $0.04.

American Century Companies Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC - Free Report) by 22.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 419,494 shares of the bank's stock after selling 122,154 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.33% of Simmons First National worth $8,612,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in Simmons First National during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Simmons First National during the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. SouthState Corp purchased a new position in Simmons First National in the first quarter valued at about $71,000. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 99.0% during the 1st 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. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Simmons First National in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $114,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.58% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Charles Daniel Hobbs purchased 5,400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,213 shares of the company's stock, valued at $188,940.50. The trade was a 112.20% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Steenberg Christopher J. Van bought 13,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $18.50 per share, for a total transaction of $249,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 13,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $249,750. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders acquired 100,755 shares of company stock worth $1,865,332. 1.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Simmons First National Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SFNC traded down $0.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $20.78. 796,375 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 969,577. The company has a market cap of $3.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.36 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. Simmons First National Corporation has a twelve month low of $17.20 and a twelve month high of $25.95. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $19.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.67.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 analysts' expectations of $217.21 million. Simmons First National had a return on equity of 5.23% and a net margin of 11.19%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.33 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Simmons First National Corporation will post 1.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SFNC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Simmons First National from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. DA Davidson lifted their price target 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 boosted their target price on shares of 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, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Simmons First National from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $22.75.

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.