49 Wealth Management LLC Acquires New Position in Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC)

49 Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 23,101 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $498,000.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Simmons First National in the first quarter valued at about $31,495,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 9,443.9% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,395,980 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $24,541,000 after buying an additional 1,381,353 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,323,934 shares of the bank’s stock worth $128,752,000 after buying an additional 413,459 shares during the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Simmons First National by 104.6% during the 2nd quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 376,000 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,610,000 after buying an additional 192,200 shares during the period. Finally, Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Simmons First National by 28.0% in the second quarter. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. now owns 705,138 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $12,396,000 after acquiring an additional 154,128 shares during the last quarter. 27.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Simmons First National

In related news, CAO David W. Garner sold 5,090 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.25, for a total value of $128,522.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 64,966 shares in the company, valued at $1,640,391.50. This trade represents a 7.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Robert A. Fehlman sold 15,270 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.02, for a total transaction of $366,785.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 156,357 shares in the company, valued at $3,755,695.14. The trade was a 8.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 45,800 shares of company stock worth $1,136,650. Company insiders own 1.91% of the company’s stock.

Simmons First National Stock Performance

Shares of SFNC opened at $24.20 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Simmons First National Co. has a 52-week low of $15.72 and a 52-week high of $25.95. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $22.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.19. The company has a market capitalization of $3.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.73 and a beta of 0.86.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The bank reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.04. Simmons First National had a net margin of 8.94% and a return on equity of 5.15%. The firm had revenue of $203.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $204.91 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.39 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Simmons First National Co. will post 1.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Simmons First National Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.47%. Simmons First National’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on SFNC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Simmons First National from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Simmons First National from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com raised Simmons First National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Stephens upgraded Simmons First National from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $27.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Monday, October 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Simmons First National currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $23.00.

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.