Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC) Director Julie L. Stackhouse Acquires 1,080 Shares

Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC - Get Free Report) Director Julie L. Stackhouse bought 1,080 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $18.50 per share, for a total transaction of $19,980.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 15,211 shares in the company, valued at approximately $281,403.50. This trade represents a 7.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Simmons First National Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SFNC traded up $0.11 during trading on Monday, reaching $19.79. The 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 quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. Simmons First National Corporation has a 1-year low of $17.20 and a 1-year high of $25.95. The stock has a market cap of $2.82 billion, a PE ratio of 15.58 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $19.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.10.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $214.18 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.33 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Simmons First National Corporation will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Simmons First National Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th were paid 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%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 119.9% in the first quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 3,483,147 shares of the bank's stock valued at $71,509,000 after purchasing an additional 1,899,407 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Simmons First National in the 4th quarter worth $27,095,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 1,179.6% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 969,027 shares of the bank's stock worth $19,894,000 after acquiring an additional 893,298 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Simmons First National by 140.6% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,518,806 shares of the bank's stock valued at $31,181,000 after acquiring an additional 887,603 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhino Investment Partners Inc acquired a new position in shares of Simmons First National during the 4th quarter valued at about $19,531,000. 27.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on SFNC shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Simmons First National from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Stephens reduced their target price on 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 lifted their price target on shares of Simmons First National from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Simmons First National from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Simmons First National from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company 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.