First Trust Advisors LP Has $1.98 Million Holdings in Simmons First National Corporation $SFNC

First Trust Advisors LP cut its position in shares of Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC) by 29.0% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 101,673 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 41,550 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Simmons First National were worth $1,978,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of SFNC. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in Simmons First National by 35.6% in the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,884 shares of the bank’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 495 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Simmons First National by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 19,079 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $360,000 after buying an additional 495 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its holdings in Simmons First National by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 33,075 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $623,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 21,065 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $397,000 after buying an additional 513 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 32.0% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,658 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 644 shares in the last quarter. 27.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $23.00 price objective on shares of Simmons First National in a report on Friday, July 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Simmons First National from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of Simmons First National in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Stephens lifted their price objective on Simmons First National from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, National Bank Financial set a $25.00 price objective on Simmons First National in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.50.

Simmons First National Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ SFNC opened at $23.46 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.40 billion, a PE ratio of -9.27 and a beta of 0.91. The business has a fifty day moving average of $22.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.25. Simmons First National Corporation has a 52-week low of $17.00 and a 52-week high of $24.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.93.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The bank reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.03). Simmons First National had a positive return on equity of 8.32% and a negative net margin of 24.64%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.44 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Simmons First National Corporation will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Simmons First National Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a $0.215 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $0.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. Simmons First National’s payout ratio is -33.99%.

Simmons First National Profile

Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC) is a bank holding company headquartered in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Through its primary operating subsidiary, Simmons Bank, the company maintains a network of more than 200 branches across Arkansas, Tennessee, Missouri, Mississippi, Texas, Oklahoma and North Carolina. Simmons First National offers a full suite of financial services to individuals, small businesses and commercial clients, emphasizing relationship-driven community banking.

The company’s core business activities span deposit-taking, lending and payment services.