Robert A. Fehlman Sells 15,270 Shares of Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC) Stock

Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC) CEO Robert A. Fehlman sold 15,270 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.02, for a total value of $366,785.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 156,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,755,695.14. The trade was a 8.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Simmons First National Trading Up 2.6 %

NASDAQ SFNC opened at $24.83 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 firm has a market capitalization of $3.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.34 and a beta of 0.86. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.22. Simmons First National Co. has a 12 month low of $15.72 and a 12 month high of $25.95.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The bank reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $203.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $204.91 million. Simmons First National had a net margin of 8.94% and a return on equity of 5.15%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.39 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Simmons First National Co. will post 1.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Simmons First National Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Simmons First National’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.35%.

Institutional Trading of Simmons First National

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Simmons First National in the 1st quarter worth about $31,495,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in Simmons First National by 9,443.9% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,395,980 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $24,541,000 after acquiring an additional 1,381,353 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Simmons First National by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,323,934 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $128,752,000 after acquiring an additional 413,459 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 104.6% during the 2nd quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 376,000 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,610,000 after purchasing an additional 192,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 28.0% in the 2nd quarter. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. now owns 705,138 shares of the bank’s stock worth $12,396,000 after purchasing an additional 154,128 shares during the period. 27.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on SFNC shares. StockNews.com upgraded Simmons First National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Stephens upgraded shares of Simmons First National from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $27.00 to $28.00 in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Simmons First National from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. One research 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $23.00.

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.