David W. Garner Sells 5,090 Shares of Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC) Stock

Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC) CAO David W. Garner sold 5,090 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.25, for a total value of $128,522.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 64,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,640,391.50. The trade was a 7.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Simmons First National Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SFNC opened at $24.49 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $22.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.04. Simmons First National Co. has a fifty-two week low of $15.72 and a fifty-two week high of $25.95. The company has a market capitalization of $3.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.01 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The bank reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $203.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $204.91 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.39 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Simmons First National Co. will post 1.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Simmons First National Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.43%. Simmons First National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.35%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Simmons First National

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Simmons First National by 90.0% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 66,037 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,285,000 after buying an additional 31,284 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 17.1% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 173,229 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,371,000 after acquiring an additional 25,316 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Simmons First National by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,293 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $298,000 after acquiring an additional 1,309 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in Simmons First National in the 1st quarter worth $416,000. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its holdings in Simmons First National by 26.6% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 45,647 shares of the bank’s stock worth $888,000 after purchasing an additional 9,585 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SFNC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Simmons First National from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Simmons First National from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Stephens raised shares of Simmons First National from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $27.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Simmons First National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Simmons First National currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.