Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC) Director Purchases $18,500.00 in Stock

Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC - Get Free Report) Director Jerry Hunter bought 1,000 shares of Simmons First National stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $18.50 per share, for a total transaction of $18,500.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 23,318 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $431,383. This trade represents a 4.48% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Simmons First National Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ SFNC traded up $0.11 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $19.79. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,377,647 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,844,432. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.58 and a beta of 0.92. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $19.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.10. Simmons First National Corporation has a 1 year low of $17.20 and a 1 year high of $25.95.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $214.18 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $217.21 million. Simmons First National had a net margin of 11.19% and a return on equity of 5.23%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.33 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Simmons First National Corporation will post 1.66 EPS for the current year.

Simmons First National Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th were issued a $0.2125 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $0.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.30%. Simmons First National's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.93%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Simmons First National

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Simmons First National in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Simmons First National in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Simmons First National by 35.2% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,426 shares of the bank's stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 892 shares during the last quarter. SouthState Corp acquired a new position in Simmons First National during the 1st quarter worth approximately $71,000. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Simmons First National by 813.8% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,911 shares of the bank's stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 3,483 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.58% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler raised shares of Simmons First National from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Monday, April 21st. DA Davidson increased 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 report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Simmons First National from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Simmons First National from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Stephens lowered their price target on Simmons First National from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.