Cullen Capital Management LLC Invests $568,000 in Simmons First National Corporation $SFNC

Cullen Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 25,070 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $568,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of SFNC. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in Simmons First National in the third quarter worth approximately $129,282,000. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. lifted its stake in Simmons First National by 325.7% in the fourth quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 1,143,055 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $21,547,000 after acquiring an additional 874,513 shares during the last quarter. Leeward Investments LLC MA bought a new stake in Simmons First National in the first quarter worth approximately $15,744,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Simmons First National by 97.5% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,469,594 shares of the bank’s stock worth $27,702,000 after acquiring an additional 725,489 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 58.2% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,595,939 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,083,000 after purchasing an additional 587,082 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.58% of the company’s stock.

Simmons First National Price Performance

Shares of Simmons First National stock opened at $22.70 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $21.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.97 and a beta of 0.91. Simmons First National Corporation has a 1-year low of $17.00 and a 1-year high of $24.32.

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

Simmons First National Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.215 per share. This represents a $0.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Simmons First National’s dividend payout ratio is -33.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on SFNC shares. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of Simmons First National in a research note on Friday, July 17th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $23.00 target price on shares of Simmons First National in a research report on Friday, July 17th. National Bank Financial set a $25.00 target price on Simmons First National in a report on Monday, July 20th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Simmons First National in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Simmons First National from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $24.50.

About Simmons First National

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.