Rafferty Asset Management LLC Lowers Position in Simmons First National Corporation $SFNC

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Simmons First National Corporation by 22.9%, selling 26,716 shares and holding 89,954 shares worth approximately $1.85 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• MetLife Investment Management LLC significantly increased its position in the company by 1,179.6%, acquiring an additional 893,298 shares for a total of 969,027 shares valued at about $19.89 million.
• Simmons First National reported $0.44 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates by $0.04, with a year-over-year revenue increase of 8.6%.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC - Free Report) by 22.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 89,954 shares of the bank's stock after selling 26,716 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Simmons First National worth $1,847,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 1,179.6% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 969,027 shares of the bank's stock valued at $19,894,000 after acquiring an additional 893,298 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC raised its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 327.4% in the first quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 107,192 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,201,000 after acquiring an additional 82,113 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 70.8% in the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 26,342 shares of the bank's stock valued at $540,000 after acquiring an additional 10,923 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP raised its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 71.2% in the first quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 68,595 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,408,000 after acquiring an additional 28,523 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Simmons First National by 234.7% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 153,661 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,155,000 after purchasing an additional 107,752 shares in the last quarter. 27.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Simmons First National Stock Performance

NASDAQ SFNC traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $20.76. The stock had a trading volume of 574,956 shares, compared to its average volume of 854,863. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $19.82 and a 200 day moving average of $19.62. The stock has a market cap of $3.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.35 and a beta of 0.97. Simmons First National Corporation has a 52-week low of $17.20 and a 52-week high of $25.95. 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 (NASDAQ:SFNC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $214.18 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $217.21 million. Simmons First National had a return on equity of 5.23% and a net margin of 11.19%.Simmons First National's revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.33 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Simmons First National Corporation will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Simmons First National

In other news, Director Marty Casteel bought 5,400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $18.50 per share, for a total transaction of $99,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 213,901 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,957,168.50. This represents a 2.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Steenberg Christopher J. Van bought 13,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $18.50 per share, for a total transaction of $249,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought 100,755 shares of company stock valued at $1,865,332 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.91% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SFNC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Simmons First National from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Simmons First National from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Simmons First National from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Simmons First National from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One equities 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.