Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC) Shares Purchased by KBC Group NV

KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC) by 31.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,091 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,443 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Simmons First National were worth $135,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Simmons First National in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $889,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Simmons First National by 33.8% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 676,171 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,565,000 after buying an additional 170,821 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 646,325 shares of the bank’s stock worth $13,922,000 after acquiring an additional 27,479 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Simmons First National during the 3rd quarter worth $1,339,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Simmons First National by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,992,851 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $64,478,000 after acquiring an additional 37,519 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.58% of the company’s stock.

Simmons First National Stock Performance

Shares of SFNC stock opened at $23.30 on Friday. 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 quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $22.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $22.25. The firm has a market cap of $2.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.26 and a beta of 0.86.

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

Simmons First National Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.2125 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.65%. This is a positive change from Simmons First National’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Simmons First National’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.02, for a total value of $366,785.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 156,357 shares in the company, valued at $3,755,695.14. This trade represents a 8.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman George Makris, Jr. sold 25,440 shares of Simmons First National stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.21, for a total value of $641,342.40. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 608,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,336,427.87. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 45,800 shares of company stock valued at $1,136,650 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on SFNC shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Simmons First National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Stephens cut their target price on Simmons First National from $29.00 to $28.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd.

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.