Russell Investments Group Ltd. Cuts Stock Holdings in Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. trimmed its position in Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC - Free Report) by 31.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 95,368 shares of the bank's stock after selling 43,764 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.08% of Simmons First National worth $1,892,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 35.0% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 21,968 shares of the bank's stock worth $373,000 after buying an additional 5,697 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio lifted its holdings in Simmons First National by 110.0% during the 3rd quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 42,200 shares of the bank's stock valued at $715,000 after purchasing an additional 22,100 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 5.7% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 55,729 shares of the bank's stock worth $945,000 after buying an additional 3,023 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 1,314.8% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 12,875 shares of the bank's stock valued at $218,000 after acquiring an additional 11,965 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management boosted its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 630,600 shares of the bank's stock worth $10,695,000 after acquiring an additional 33,770 shares in the last quarter. 27.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Stephens cut their price objective on Simmons First National from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Simmons First National from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Simmons First National from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Simmons First National from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $21.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP George A. Makris III sold 15,625 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.23, for a total transaction of $269,218.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 39,707 shares of the company's stock, valued at $684,151.61. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.91% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Simmons First National Trading Up 0.4 %

Simmons First National stock traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $18.38. 486,230 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 490,114. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.31 billion, a PE ratio of 13.82 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $18.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Simmons First National Co. has a 52 week low of $13.36 and a 52 week high of $20.82.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.32. The company had revenue of $195.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $202.35 million. Simmons First National had a net margin of 11.97% and a return on equity of 5.94%. The firm's revenue was down 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.37 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Simmons First National Co. will post 1.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Simmons First National Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.57%. Simmons First National's payout ratio is 63.16%.

Simmons First National 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.