Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC) Chairman George Makris, Jr. Sells 25,440 Shares

Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC) Chairman George Makris, Jr. sold 25,440 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.21, for a total value of $641,342.40. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 608,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,336,427.87. This represents a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Simmons First National Stock Performance

NASDAQ SFNC opened at $24.49 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.01 and a beta of 0.86. Simmons First National Co. has a twelve month low of $15.72 and a twelve month high of $25.95. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $22.42 and a 200 day moving average of $19.99.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The bank reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.04. Simmons First National had a return on equity of 5.15% and a net margin of 8.94%. The business had revenue of $203.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $204.91 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.39 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Simmons First National Co. will post 1.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Simmons First National Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Simmons First National’s payout ratio is 82.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on SFNC shares. StockNews.com upgraded Simmons First National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Simmons First National from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Stephens raised Simmons First National from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $27.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Simmons First National from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Simmons First National currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $23.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Simmons First National

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SFNC. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 6.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,323,934 shares of the bank’s stock worth $128,752,000 after buying an additional 413,459 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 1.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,992,851 shares of the bank’s stock worth $64,478,000 after purchasing an additional 37,519 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 3.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,866,142 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $40,197,000 after acquiring an additional 65,992 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its stake in Simmons First National by 3.7% in the second quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 1,677,924 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $29,498,000 after purchasing an additional 59,495 shares during the period. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 9,443.9% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,395,980 shares of the bank’s stock worth $24,541,000 after purchasing an additional 1,381,353 shares during the period. 27.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.