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 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 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. This trade represents a 8.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Simmons First National Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ SFNC traded up $0.55 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $24.75. 55,393 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 538,143. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. Simmons First National Co. has a twelve month low of $15.72 and a twelve month high of $25.95. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $22.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.22. The company has a market cap of $3.11 billion, a PE ratio of 23.73 and a beta of 0.86.

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

Simmons First National Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 3.39%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Simmons First National’s payout ratio is currently 82.35%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Simmons First National

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Simmons First National by 161.0% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,843 shares of the bank’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,137 shares during the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 2,045.5% during the second quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 1,888 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 1,800 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its position in Simmons First National by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 4,129 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $89,000 after acquiring an additional 497 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its stake in Simmons First National by 29.0% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,648 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $100,000 after acquiring an additional 1,045 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its stake in Simmons First National by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,778 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $168,000 after acquiring an additional 403 shares during the last quarter. 27.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Simmons First National Company 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.