Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. Sells 156,321 Shares of Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC)

Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC - Free Report) by 16.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 774,619 shares of the bank's stock after selling 156,321 shares during the period. Simmons First National makes up about 1.3% of Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. owned 0.62% of Simmons First National worth $17,181,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SFNC. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Simmons First National by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,616,599 shares of the bank's stock worth $168,938,000 after acquiring an additional 51,468 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC increased its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 24,749 shares of the bank's stock worth $549,000 after buying an additional 3,400 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Simmons First National by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 262,246 shares of the bank's stock valued at $5,816,000 after acquiring an additional 14,425 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its position in Simmons First National by 813.8% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,911 shares of the bank's stock worth $87,000 after acquiring an additional 3,483 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Simmons First National in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,018,000. 27.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Simmons First National Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ SFNC traded down $0.27 during trading on Friday, reaching $18.40. The company had a trading volume of 236,886 shares, compared to its average volume of 604,561. Simmons First National Co. has a 12-month low of $16.03 and a 12-month high of $25.95. The business's 50-day moving average is $19.92 and its 200 day moving average is $22.04. The stock has a market cap of $2.32 billion, a PE ratio of 15.21 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The bank reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.10). Simmons First National had a return on equity of 5.10% and a net margin of 10.46%. The business had revenue of $209.58 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $209.00 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.32 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Simmons First National Co. will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Simmons First National Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.2125 per share. This is an increase from Simmons First National's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.62%. Simmons First National's dividend payout ratio is 73.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on SFNC. Stephens lowered their price objective 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. Piper Sandler upgraded Simmons First National from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their target price for the company from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Monday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Simmons First National from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday.

About Simmons First National

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.