Rafferty Asset Management LLC Has $2.59 Million Stock Position in Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC) by 13.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 116,670 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,105 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.09% of Simmons First National worth $2,588,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Simmons First National during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Simmons First National during the fourth quarter worth approximately $213,000. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Simmons First National during the fourth quarter worth approximately $424,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 70,640 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,567,000 after purchasing an additional 2,678 shares during the period. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Simmons First National during the fourth quarter worth approximately $462,000. 27.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on SFNC. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Simmons First National from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $20.00 to $21.00 in a report on Monday, April 21st. 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 research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Simmons First National from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st.

Simmons First National Price Performance

NASDAQ SFNC opened at $19.90 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.51 billion, a PE ratio of 16.45 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $19.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $21.61. Simmons First National Co. has a 12-month low of $16.03 and a 12-month high of $25.95.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 10.46% and a return on equity of 5.10%. The firm had revenue of $209.58 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $209.00 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.32 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Simmons First National Co. will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Simmons First National Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $0.2125 dividend. This represents a $0.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.27%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Simmons First National’s dividend payout ratio is 73.28%.

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.