Denali Advisors LLC Invests $3.58 Million in Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC)

Denali Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 183,800 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $3,577,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Simmons First National by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 13,984 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 1,043 shares during the period. Jag Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Simmons First National by 1.1% in the third quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 121,073 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,053,000 after acquiring an additional 1,330 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Simmons First National during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,590 shares of the bank’s stock worth $230,000 after purchasing an additional 1,590 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 532,415 shares of the bank’s stock worth $10,563,000 after purchasing an additional 2,415 shares in the last quarter. 27.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Simmons First National

In other Simmons First National news, EVP George A. Makris III sold 15,625 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.23, for a total transaction of $269,218.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,707 shares in the company, valued at $684,151.61. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.91% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Simmons First National Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ SFNC traded down $0.33 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $17.30. The company had a trading volume of 248,312 shares, compared to its average volume of 481,280. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $17.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.40. The stock has a market cap of $2.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.26 and a beta of 0.89. Simmons First National Co. has a 52-week low of $13.36 and a 52-week high of $20.82.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.32. Simmons First National had a net margin of 11.97% and a return on equity of 5.94%. The company had revenue of $195.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $202.35 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.37 EPS. Simmons First National’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Simmons First National Co. will post 1.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Simmons First National Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.86%. Simmons First National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Simmons First National from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Stephens dropped their price target on shares of Simmons First National from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Simmons First National from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Simmons First National currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.00.

Simmons First National 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.