Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Boosts Position in Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC)

Key Points

• Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its stake in Simmons First National Corporation by 119.9%, owning approximately 3.48 million shares valued at $71.5 million after acquiring 1.9 million shares in the first quarter.
• Multiple large investors, including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and FJ Capital Management LLC, have also boosted their holdings in Simmons First National during the fourth quarter, indicating strong institutional interest in the stock.
• Simmons First National reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.44, surpassing analysts' expectations, with revenue rising 8.6% year-over-year despite falling short of estimates.

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC - Free Report) by 119.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,483,147 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 1,899,407 shares during the quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. owned approximately 2.77% of Simmons First National worth $71,509,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rhino Investment Partners Inc purchased a new stake in Simmons First National in the fourth quarter worth about $19,531,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Simmons First National by 49.6% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,011,431 shares of the bank's stock worth $22,434,000 after purchasing an additional 335,260 shares during the period. FJ Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 35.1% during the fourth 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. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Simmons First National by 71.2% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 631,203 shares of the bank's stock valued at $14,000,000 after buying an additional 262,529 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Simmons First National by 692.4% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 221,855 shares of the bank's stock worth $4,921,000 after buying an additional 193,856 shares in the last quarter. 27.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Simmons First National Price Performance

Shares of SFNC stock opened at $19.04 on Wednesday. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $19.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.99. Simmons First National Corporation has a 1-year low of $17.20 and a 1-year high of $25.95. The company has a market cap of $2.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.99 and a beta of 0.95. 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 (NASDAQ:SFNC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.04. Simmons First National had a return on equity of 5.23% and a net margin of 11.19%. 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 previous year, the firm earned $0.33 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Simmons First National Corporation will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target 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. Stephens reduced their target price on shares of Simmons First National from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Piper Sandler raised shares of Simmons First National from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the company from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Monday, April 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 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $22.75.

Insider Activity at Simmons First National

In related news, Director Russell William Teubner acquired 4,050 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $18.50 per share, with a total value of $74,925.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 25,576 shares of the company's stock, valued at $473,156. This represents a 18.81% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Charles Daniel Hobbs bought 5,400 shares of Simmons First National stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $18.50 per share, with a total value of $99,900.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,213 shares in the company, valued at $188,940.50. The trade was a 112.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought 89,555 shares of company stock worth $1,656,768 in the last 90 days. 1.91% of the stock is owned by 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.

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