Peregrine Capital Management LLC Buys 10,441 Shares of Simmons First National Corporation $SFNC

Peregrine Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC) by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 269,958 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,441 shares during the period. Peregrine Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Simmons First National were worth $5,118,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Simmons First National by 2.7% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 691,328 shares of the bank’s stock worth $14,193,000 after acquiring an additional 17,888 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its position in Simmons First National by 18.7% in the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,231 shares of the bank’s stock worth $148,000 after acquiring an additional 1,140 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in Simmons First National in the first quarter worth about $318,000. Ieq Capital LLC raised its position in Simmons First National by 156.9% in the first quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 42,193 shares of the bank’s stock worth $866,000 after acquiring an additional 25,771 shares during the period. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its position in shares of Simmons First National by 7.6% in the second quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 74,955 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,420,000 after purchasing an additional 5,298 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 27.58% of the company’s stock.

Simmons First National Stock Performance

Simmons First National stock opened at $18.03 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $19.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.61 billion, a PE ratio of -6.15 and a beta of 0.94. Simmons First National Corporation has a 1-year low of $17.20 and a 1-year high of $25.95.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The bank reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $232.54 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $103.26 million. Simmons First National had a positive return on equity of 5.84% and a negative net margin of 29.70%.The business’s revenue was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.37 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Simmons First National Corporation will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Simmons First National Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th were issued a dividend of $0.2125 per share. This represents a $0.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. Simmons First National’s dividend payout ratio is -29.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Russell William Teubner purchased 9,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $18.62 per share, with a total value of $171,304.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 53,220 shares in the company, valued at approximately $990,956.40. This represents a 20.90% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP David W. Garner purchased 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 22nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $17.66 per share, with a total value of $52,980.00. Following the purchase, the executive vice president owned 72,345 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,277,612.70. This represents a 4.33% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have purchased a total of 14,200 shares of company stock worth $261,544 in the last ninety days. 1.91% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on SFNC. Zacks Research lowered shares of Simmons First National from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Simmons First National in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a “positive” rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Simmons First National from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Simmons First National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price target 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, July 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.40.

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.