Insider Buying: Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC) CEO Buys 17,550 Shares of Stock

Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC) CEO George Makris, Jr. acquired 17,550 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $18.50 per share, with a total value of $324,675.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 651,703 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,056,505.50. This trade represents a 2.77% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Simmons First National Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SFNC opened at $19.68 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $19.23 and a 200-day moving average of $20.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.80 billion, a PE ratio of 15.50 and a beta of 0.92. Simmons First National Corporation has a 12 month low of $17.20 and a 12 month high of $25.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $214.18 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $217.21 million. Simmons First National had a net margin of 11.19% and a return on equity of 5.23%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.33 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Simmons First National Corporation will post 1.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Simmons First National Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th were given a dividend of $0.2125 per share. This represents a $0.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.32%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. Simmons First National’s dividend payout ratio is 66.93%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Simmons First National

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SFNC. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Simmons First National during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,018,000. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in Simmons First National by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 19,600 shares of the bank’s stock worth $435,000 after purchasing an additional 812 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in Simmons First National by 32.1% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 20,606 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $457,000 after acquiring an additional 5,006 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its position in Simmons First National by 30.5% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 13,496 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $300,000 after acquiring an additional 3,157 shares during the period. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new position in Simmons First National in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $258,000. 27.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on SFNC shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Simmons First National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Simmons First National from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Stephens dropped 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 report on Monday, April 21st. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Simmons First National from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Simmons First National from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.75.

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.