Quantbot Technologies LP Invests $889,000 in Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC)

Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 40,072 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $889,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SFNC. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Simmons First National by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,778 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $168,000 after buying an additional 403 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 751 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 4.3% in the 4th 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 lifted its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 120,421 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,671,000 after purchasing an additional 1,185 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp acquired a new position in shares of Simmons First National in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. 27.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Simmons First National Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SFNC opened at $20.75 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Simmons First National Co. has a 12 month low of $16.03 and a 12 month high of $25.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.61 billion, a PE ratio of 17.15 and a beta of 0.84. The business’s 50-day moving average is $21.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.46.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last released its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $208.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $208.67 million. Simmons First National had a net margin of 10.46% and a return on equity of 5.10%. The business’s revenue was up 17.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.40 EPS. Research analysts predict that Simmons First National Co. will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Simmons First National Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.2125 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.10%. This is an increase from Simmons First National’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Simmons First National’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.25%.

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.