Simmons First National Corporation $SFNC Stock Holdings Lifted by Geode Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Geode Capital Management increased its stake in Simmons First National by 1.5% in Q4, ending with 3.56 million shares valued at about $67.1 million.
• The bank reported Q1 earnings of $0.47 per share, matching analyst estimates, while revenue rose 15.2% year over year to $241.37 million.
• Simmons First National announced a $0.215 quarterly dividend payable July 1 and a $175 million share repurchase program, while analysts currently rate the stock Moderate Buy with a $22 average price target.

Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC - Free Report) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,558,574 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 53,994 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 2.46% of Simmons First National worth $67,090,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of SFNC. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Simmons First National by 197.5% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in Simmons First National by 35.6% in the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,884 shares of the bank's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 495 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 42.5% during the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,175 shares of the bank's stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 649 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 32.0% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,658 shares of the bank's stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 644 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Simmons First National during the 4th quarter valued at about $66,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.58% of the company's stock.

Simmons First National Price Performance

NASDAQ SFNC opened at $21.60 on Tuesday. Simmons First National Corporation has a twelve month low of $17.00 and a twelve month high of $22.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.13 billion, a PE ratio of -8.44 and a beta of 0.91. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.07.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 16th. The bank reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.47. Simmons First National had a positive return on equity of 7.81% and a negative net margin of 25.44%.The business had revenue of $241.37 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $243.02 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.26 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Simmons First National Corporation will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Simmons First National Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a $0.215 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $0.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. Simmons First National's dividend payout ratio is -33.59%.

Simmons First National declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 17th that permits the company to repurchase $175.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the bank to buy up to 5.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SFNC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. DA Davidson reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $21.00 price objective on shares of Simmons First National in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Simmons First National from $23.00 to $21.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Weiss Ratings raised Simmons First National from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Stephens raised their price objective on Simmons First National from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Simmons First National from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. 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, Simmons First National has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $22.00.

Simmons First National Company 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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