Vanguard Group Inc. Reduces Stake in Simmons First National Corporation $SFNC

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. has reduced its stake in Simmons First National Corporation by 1.9%, selling 284,908 shares and now holding approximately 11.58% of the bank's stock.
• Simmons First National Corporation reported earnings of $0.44 per share for the last quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate of $0.40.
• Research analysts have raised their price targets for Simmons First National, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and a price target of $22.75.

Vanguard Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC - Free Report) by 1.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,581,739 shares of the bank's stock after selling 284,908 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 11.58% of Simmons First National worth $299,363,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cresset Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Simmons First National by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 76,711 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,718,000 after purchasing an additional 546 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Simmons First National by 5.5% during the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 16,058 shares of the bank's stock worth $330,000 after buying an additional 836 shares during the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 62,588 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,285,000 after purchasing an additional 966 shares in the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Simmons First National by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 27,396 shares of the bank's stock valued at $613,000 after buying an additional 1,049 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sowell Financial Services LLC grew its stake in Simmons First National by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 14,738 shares of the bank's stock valued at $303,000 after buying an additional 1,056 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.58% of the company's stock.

Simmons First National Trading Down 0.0%

NASDAQ SFNC traded down $0.0050 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $20.0150. 263,910 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 850,604. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Simmons First National Corporation has a 1-year low of $17.20 and a 1-year high of $25.95. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.78. The firm has a market cap of $2.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.76 and a beta of 0.95.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 during 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 company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.33 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Simmons First National Corporation will post 1.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SFNC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Simmons First National from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Zacks Research raised Simmons First National from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday. Wall Street Zen raised 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 Simmons First National from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One 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, Simmons First National currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $22.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Russell William Teubner bought 9,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $18.62 per share, with a total value of $171,304.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 53,220 shares in the company, valued at approximately $990,956.40. The trade was a 20.90% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Steven A. Cosse purchased 13,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $18.50 per share, with a total value of $249,750.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 104,120 shares in the company, valued at $1,926,220. The trade was a 14.90% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased a total of 100,755 shares of company stock worth $1,865,332 in the last 90 days. 1.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Simmons First National 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.