Insider Buying: Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC) Director Buys 13,500 Shares of Stock

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

Simmons First National Price Performance

NASDAQ:SFNC traded down $0.45 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $19.66. 4,203,560 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 819,213. 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 $2.48 billion, a PE ratio of 15.48 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $19.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.16.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $214.18 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $217.21 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.33 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Simmons First National Corporation will post 1.66 EPS for the current year.

Simmons First National Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th were issued a $0.2125 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $0.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.32%. Simmons First National's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SFNC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen raised Simmons First National from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Piper Sandler raised shares of Simmons First National from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Monday, April 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 research note on Monday, April 21st. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Simmons First National from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $22.75.

Institutional Trading of Simmons First National

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Simmons First National during the 4th quarter worth about $1,018,000. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 4.3% during 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 last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 32.1% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 20,606 shares of the bank's stock worth $457,000 after buying an additional 5,006 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 30.5% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 13,496 shares of the bank's stock worth $300,000 after buying an additional 3,157 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new position in shares of Simmons First National in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $258,000. 27.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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