iSAM Funds UK Ltd Increases Stock Position in Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC)

iSAM Funds UK Ltd grew its holdings in Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC) by 33.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,729 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,234 shares during the quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd’s holdings in Simmons First National were worth $371,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SFNC. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 131.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 247,821 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,337,000 after purchasing an additional 140,738 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 31.0% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,091 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $135,000 after purchasing an additional 1,443 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 249.7% in the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 13,598 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $302,000 after purchasing an additional 9,710 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 356,500 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,907,000 after purchasing an additional 17,358 shares during the period. Finally, Legato Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 56,476 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,253,000 after purchasing an additional 2,650 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.58% of the company’s stock.

Simmons First National Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of Simmons First National stock opened at $19.68 on Wednesday. Simmons First National Co. has a 52-week low of $16.03 and a 52-week high of $25.95. The company has a 50 day moving average of $19.27 and a 200 day moving average of $21.61. 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 company has a market capitalization of $2.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.26 and a beta of 0.91.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The bank reported $0.26 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $209.58 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $209.00 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.32 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Simmons First National Co. will post 1.66 EPS 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. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $0.2125 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $0.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.32%. Simmons First National’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SFNC has been the subject of several recent research reports. 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 research note on Monday, April 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective 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. Finally, Piper Sandler raised shares of Simmons First National from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Monday, April 21st.

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.