KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Acquires Shares of 25,900 Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 25,900 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $579,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SFNC. FMR LLC increased its position in Simmons First National by 5.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,778 shares of the bank’s stock worth $168,000 after acquiring an additional 403 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of Simmons First National by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 12,581 shares of the bank’s stock worth $279,000 after purchasing an additional 751 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 19,600 shares of the bank’s stock worth $435,000 after purchasing an additional 812 shares during the period. Jag Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Simmons First National by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 120,421 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,671,000 after buying an additional 1,185 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp bought a new position in Simmons First National during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.58% of the company’s stock.

Simmons First National Stock Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ:SFNC opened at $20.55 on Thursday. Simmons First National Co. has a one year low of $16.03 and a one year high of $25.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The company has a market cap of $2.59 billion, a PE ratio of 16.98 and a beta of 0.84. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $21.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.46.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $208.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $208.67 million. Simmons First National had a net margin of 10.46% and a return on equity of 5.10%. Simmons First National’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.40 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Simmons First National Co. will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Simmons First National Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.2125 per share. This is a positive change 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 4.14%. Simmons First National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Simmons First National Company 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.