Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC) Director Steven A. Cosse Purchases 13,500 Shares

Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC - Get Free Report) Director Steven A. Cosse bought 13,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $18.50 per share, for a total transaction of $249,750.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 104,120 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,926,220. This represents a 14.90% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Simmons First National Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of SFNC traded up $0.11 on Monday, hitting $19.79. 1,377,647 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,844,432. Simmons First National Corporation has a one year low of $17.20 and a one year high of $25.95. The company has a market capitalization of $2.82 billion, a PE ratio of 15.58 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.10. 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.44 EPS 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $217.21 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.33 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Simmons First National Corporation will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Simmons First National Announces Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Simmons First National

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Simmons First National in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,018,000. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in Simmons First National by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 19,600 shares of the bank's stock worth $435,000 after purchasing an additional 812 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in Simmons First National by 32.1% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 20,606 shares of the bank's stock valued at $457,000 after buying an additional 5,006 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 30.5% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 13,496 shares of the bank's stock valued at $300,000 after buying an additional 3,157 shares during the period. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp purchased a new position in shares of Simmons First National in the 4th quarter worth $258,000. Institutional investors own 27.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Simmons First National from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stephens lowered their price target on shares of 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective 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. Piper Sandler raised Simmons First National from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $20.00 to $21.00 in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Simmons First National from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" 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.