Simmons First National Corporation $SFNC Shares Sold by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Key Points

• Bank of New York Mellon reduced its Simmons First National stake by 3.9% in the first quarter, selling 62,298 shares and retaining 1.54 million shares worth approximately $29.9 million. Institutional investors collectively own 27.58% of SFNC.
• Analysts maintain a generally favorable outlook, with the stock carrying a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $24.50. Recent targets range from $23 to $25.
• SFNC shares opened at $23.18, near their 52-week high, while quarterly results fell short of estimates: EPS was $0.50 versus $0.53 expected and revenue was $248.6 million versus $251.0 million forecast. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.215 per share, yielding about 3.7% annually.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lowered its stake in shares of Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC - Free Report) by 3.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,538,824 shares of the bank's stock after selling 62,298 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 1.06% of Simmons First National worth $29,930,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SFNC. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Simmons First National by 197.5% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,663 shares of the bank's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,104 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in Simmons First National by 35.6% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,884 shares of the bank's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 495 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its stake in Simmons First National by 32.0% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,658 shares of the bank's stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 644 shares during the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Simmons First National during the 4th quarter worth $66,000. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new stake in Simmons First National in the 4th quarter valued at about $76,000. 27.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of Simmons First National in a report on Friday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley restated a "positive" rating on shares of Simmons First National in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Simmons First National in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. DA Davidson reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $23.00 price objective on shares of Simmons First National in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Simmons First National from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $24.50.

Simmons First National Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SFNC opened at $23.18 on Monday. Simmons First National Corporation has a 1 year low of $17.00 and a 1 year high of $23.91. The company has a market capitalization of $3.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.16 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The business has a 50-day moving average of $22.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $20.95.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The bank reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $248.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $250.98 million. Simmons First National had a negative net margin of 24.64% and a positive return on equity of 8.32%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.44 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Simmons First National Corporation will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Simmons First National Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.215 per share. This represents a $0.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. Simmons First National's payout ratio is currently -33.99%.

Simmons First National Profile

Simmons First National Corporation NASDAQ: SFNC is a bank holding company headquartered in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Through its primary operating subsidiary, Simmons Bank, the company maintains a network of more than 200 branches across Arkansas, Tennessee, Missouri, Mississippi, Texas, Oklahoma and North Carolina. Simmons First National offers a full suite of financial services to individuals, small businesses and commercial clients, emphasizing relationship-driven community banking.

The company's core business activities span deposit-taking, lending and payment services.

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