CENTRAL TRUST Co Has $744,000 Stake in Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC)

CENTRAL TRUST Co lessened its stake in shares of Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC) by 54.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,555 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 40,099 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co’s holdings in Simmons First National were worth $744,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of Simmons First National by 105.9% during the third quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 3,888 shares of the bank’s stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in Simmons First National by 13.7% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 4,129 shares of the bank’s stock worth $89,000 after buying an additional 497 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 29.0% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,648 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $100,000 after buying an additional 1,045 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 5.5% during the third 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 last quarter. Finally, LMR Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Simmons First National during the third quarter worth about $205,000. 27.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Simmons First National Stock Performance

Shares of SFNC stock opened at $22.30 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market cap of $2.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.43 and a beta of 0.86. Simmons First National Co. has a 52 week low of $16.03 and a 52 week high of $25.95. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $22.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.22.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.03. Simmons First National had a return on equity of 5.10% and a net margin of 10.46%. The business had revenue of $208.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $208.67 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.40 earnings per share. Simmons First National’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Simmons First National Co. will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Simmons First National Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.85 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.81%. This is a positive change from Simmons First National’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Simmons First National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.42%.

Insider Activity at Simmons First National

In other Simmons First National news, CAO David W. Garner sold 5,090 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.25, for a total transaction of $128,522.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 64,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,640,391.50. The trade was a 7.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, 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 transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 45,800 shares of company stock worth $1,136,650. Company insiders own 1.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SFNC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Simmons First National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Stephens dropped their target price 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 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.