Marty Casteel Acquires 5,400 Shares of Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC) Stock

Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC - Get Free Report) Director Marty Casteel bought 5,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $18.50 per share, with a total value of $99,900.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 213,901 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,957,168.50. This trade represents a 2.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Simmons First National Stock Performance

Shares of SFNC stock traded up $0.11 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $19.79. The stock had a trading volume of 1,377,647 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,844,432. The firm has a market cap of $2.82 billion, a PE ratio of 15.58 and a beta of 0.92. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $19.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. Simmons First National Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $17.20 and a fifty-two week high of $25.95.

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

Simmons First National Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SFNC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. 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 report on Monday, July 21st. Piper Sandler raised Simmons First National from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Monday, April 21st. DA Davidson raised their target price 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. 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 report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Simmons First National from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $22.75.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Simmons First National

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 691,328 shares of the bank's stock valued at $14,193,000 after purchasing an additional 17,888 shares in the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC grew its position in Simmons First National by 7.7% during the first quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 14,738 shares of the bank's stock worth $303,000 after buying an additional 1,056 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in Simmons First National in the fourth quarter valued at about $579,000. KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Simmons First National by 18.7% during the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,231 shares of the bank's stock valued at $148,000 after acquiring an additional 1,140 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Simmons First National during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,086,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.58% of the company's stock.

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.