Trexquant Investment LP Boosts Holdings in Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC)

Trexquant Investment LP increased its stake in shares of Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC) by 393.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 185,604 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 147,954 shares during the quarter. Trexquant Investment LP owned about 0.15% of Simmons First National worth $4,117,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,778 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $168,000 after purchasing an additional 403 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 48.3% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 40,294 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $868,000 after acquiring an additional 13,124 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in shares of Simmons First National by 36.5% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 33,822 shares of the bank’s stock worth $729,000 after acquiring an additional 9,049 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Simmons First National in the 3rd quarter valued at $237,000. Finally, Centiva Capital LP purchased a new stake in Simmons First National in the 3rd quarter valued at $354,000. 27.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Simmons First National Trading Down 3.1 %

NASDAQ:SFNC opened at $18.26 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $21.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.43. Simmons First National Co. has a 12-month low of $16.03 and a 12-month high of $25.95. The firm has a market cap of $2.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.09 and a beta of 0.84.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.03. Simmons First National had a net margin of 10.46% and a return on equity of 5.10%. The company had revenue of $208.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $208.67 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.40 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 17.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Simmons First National Co. will post 1.66 EPS for the current year.

Simmons First National Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.2125 per share. This is a boost from Simmons First National’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.85 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.65%. Simmons First National’s payout ratio is presently 70.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Stephens dropped their price objective on shares of Simmons First National from $29.00 to $28.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd.

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.