Cetera Investment Advisers Raises Stock Position in Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC)

Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC) by 3.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 59,025 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,174 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in Simmons First National were worth $1,038,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Simmons First National by 161.0% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,843 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,137 shares in the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. grew its holdings in Simmons First National by 2,045.5% during the 2nd quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 1,888 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800 shares in the last quarter. Profund Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Simmons First National during the 2nd quarter valued at $183,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Simmons First National during the 1st quarter valued at $227,000. Finally, Algert Global LLC acquired a new stake in Simmons First National during the 2nd quarter valued at $222,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Simmons First National

In related news, CAO David W. Garner sold 3,600 shares of Simmons First National stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.21, for a total value of $76,356.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 64,966 shares in the company, valued at $1,377,928.86. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Simmons First National news, CEO Robert A. Fehlman sold 8,680 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.93, for a total transaction of $190,352.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 156,357 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,428,909.01. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO David W. Garner sold 3,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.21, for a total transaction of $76,356.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 64,966 shares in the company, valued at $1,377,928.86. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 33,700 shares of company stock worth $728,952 in the last ninety days. 1.91% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their price objective 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 lowered shares of Simmons First National from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Simmons First National from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Simmons First National from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.75.

Simmons First National Stock Performance

NASDAQ SFNC opened at $23.30 on Friday. Simmons First National Co. has a one year low of $13.36 and a one year high of $23.68. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.93 billion, a PE ratio of 19.58 and a beta of 0.87.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.02. Simmons First National had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 5.33%. The business had revenue of $372.44 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $197.30 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.48 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Simmons First National Co. will post 1.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Simmons First National Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were given a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.61%. Simmons First National’s dividend payout ratio is presently 70.59%.

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.