Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC) by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 646,325 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 27,479 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.51% of Simmons First National worth $13,922,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of Simmons First National by 2,045.5% in the 2nd quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 1,888 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in Simmons First National by 13.7% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 4,129 shares of the bank’s stock worth $89,000 after acquiring an additional 497 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Simmons First National by 29.0% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,648 shares of the bank’s stock worth $100,000 after purchasing an additional 1,045 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake 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 worth $168,000 after buying an additional 403 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LMR Partners LLP bought a new position in Simmons First National during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $205,000. 27.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Simmons First National Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:SFNC opened at $22.35 on Friday. Simmons First National Co. has a 52-week low of $16.03 and a 52-week high of $25.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.91 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $23.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.36.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The bank reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $204.91 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.39 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Simmons First National Co. will post 1.33 EPS for the current year.

Simmons First National Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.76%. Simmons First National’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.35%.

Insider Activity at Simmons First National

In other Simmons First National news, CEO Robert A. Fehlman sold 15,270 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.02, for a total transaction of $366,785.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 156,357 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,755,695.14. This trade represents a 8.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO David W. Garner sold 5,090 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.25, for a total transaction of $128,522.50. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 45,800 shares of company stock worth $1,136,650. Corporate insiders own 1.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on SFNC. Stephens raised Simmons First National from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $27.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Monday, October 21st. StockNews.com raised shares of Simmons First National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $23.00.

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.