Insider Buying: Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC) Director Purchases 1,080 Shares of Stock

Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC - Get Free Report) Director Julie L. Stackhouse purchased 1,080 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $18.50 per share, for a total transaction of $19,980.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 15,211 shares in the company, valued at $281,403.50. The trade was a 7.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Simmons First National Stock Performance

Shares of SFNC stock traded down $0.45 on Thursday, reaching $19.66. The stock had a trading volume of 4,203,560 shares, compared to its average volume of 819,213. The stock has a market cap of $2.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.48 and a beta of 0.92. Simmons First National Corporation has a 1 year low of $17.20 and a 1 year high of $25.95. 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 company has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.16.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $214.18 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.33 EPS. Equities research 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 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 4.32%. Simmons First National's dividend payout ratio is currently 66.93%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Simmons First National

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SFNC. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Simmons First National in the 4th quarter worth $1,018,000. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings 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 holdings in Simmons First National by 32.1% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 20,606 shares of the bank's stock worth $457,000 after purchasing an additional 5,006 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Simmons First National by 30.5% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 13,496 shares of the bank's stock worth $300,000 after purchasing an additional 3,157 shares during the period. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new position in Simmons First National in the 4th quarter worth $258,000. 27.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the company. Stephens cut their target price on Simmons First National from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Simmons First National from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Piper Sandler upgraded Simmons First National from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their target price for the company from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Simmons First National from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, DA Davidson increased their target price on Simmons First National from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Four research 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 currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.

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