Ieq Capital LLC Boosts Holdings in Simmons First National Corporation $SFNC

Key Points

• Ieq Capital LLC significantly increased its stake in Simmons First National Corporation by 156.9% during the first quarter, bringing its total holdings to $866,000.
• Simmons First National recently reported a quarterly earnings of $0.44 per share, surpassing analysts' expectations, with a year-over-year revenue growth of 8.6%.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.2125 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 4.1%.

Ieq Capital LLC grew its holdings in Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC - Free Report) by 156.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 42,193 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 25,771 shares during the quarter. Ieq Capital LLC's holdings in Simmons First National were worth $866,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 119.9% in the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 3,483,147 shares of the bank's stock valued at $71,509,000 after purchasing an additional 1,899,407 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 140.6% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,518,806 shares of the bank's stock valued at $31,181,000 after purchasing an additional 887,603 shares in the last quarter. FJ Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 35.1% in the 4th quarter. FJ Capital Management LLC now owns 1,104,008 shares of the bank's stock valued at $24,487,000 after purchasing an additional 286,622 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 1,179.6% in the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 969,027 shares of the bank's stock valued at $19,894,000 after purchasing an additional 893,298 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 691,328 shares of the bank's stock valued at $14,193,000 after purchasing an additional 17,888 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.58% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Simmons First National news, COO Steenberg Christopher J. Van acquired 13,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $18.50 per share, for a total transaction of $249,750.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief operating officer directly owned 13,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $249,750. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Charles Daniel Hobbs bought 5,400 shares of the firm'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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,213 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 bought 100,755 shares of company stock worth $1,865,332. Company insiders own 1.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Simmons First National Stock Performance

Simmons First National stock traded down $0.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $20.88. 516,184 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 785,639. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. Simmons First National Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $17.20 and a fifty-two week high of $25.95. The company has a market capitalization of $3.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.44 and a beta of 0.97. The firm's fifty day moving average is $19.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.59.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 11.19% and a return on equity of 5.23%. The business had revenue of $214.18 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $217.21 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.33 EPS. Simmons First National's revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Simmons First National Corporation will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Simmons First National Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid 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 yield of 4.1%. Simmons First National's dividend payout ratio is presently 66.93%.

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.