Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC) Shares Sold by Peregrine Capital Management LLC

Peregrine Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 273,600 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 9,869 shares during the quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC owned 0.22% of Simmons First National worth $6,068,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Alexander Labrunerie & CO. Inc. acquired a new stake in Simmons First National during the third quarter valued at approximately $209,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 2,078.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 14,946 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $322,000 after buying an additional 14,260 shares in the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of Simmons First National by 105.9% during the 3rd quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 3,888 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $84,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 18.2% during the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,466 shares of the bank’s stock worth $355,000 after acquiring an additional 2,531 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings 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. Institutional investors own 27.58% of the company’s stock.

Simmons First National Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SFNC opened at $22.57 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $2.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.65 and a beta of 0.86. The company’s fifty day moving average is $22.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Simmons First National Co. has a 12-month low of $16.03 and a 12-month high of $25.95.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $208.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $208.67 million. Simmons First National had a return on equity of 5.10% and a net margin of 10.46%. The firm’s quarterly 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. Equities analysts expect that Simmons First National Co. will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Simmons First National Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.2125 per share. This is a boost from Simmons First National’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.85 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Simmons First National’s payout ratio is currently 69.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Stephens reduced their target price on Simmons First National from $29.00 to $28.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report 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.