Empowered Funds LLC Buys 17,358 Shares of Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC)

Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC) by 5.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 356,500 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,358 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Simmons First National were worth $7,907,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lifted its stake in Simmons First National by 105.9% in the third quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 3,888 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 13.7% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 4,129 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $89,000 after buying an additional 497 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,045 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,778 shares of the bank’s stock worth $168,000 after acquiring an additional 403 shares during the period. Finally, LMR Partners LLP purchased a new stake in Simmons First National in the 3rd quarter worth about $205,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Simmons First National news, Chairman George Makris, Jr. sold 25,440 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.21, for a total value of $641,342.40. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 608,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,336,427.87. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Robert A. Fehlman sold 15,270 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.02, for a total value of $366,785.40. Following 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 45,800 shares of company stock worth $1,136,650 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on SFNC. StockNews.com raised shares of Simmons First National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Stephens dropped 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 note on Thursday, January 23rd.

Simmons First National Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SFNC opened at $22.74 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $22.78 and its 200 day moving average is $22.29. The firm has a market cap of $2.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.79 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. Simmons First National Co. has a 52-week low of $16.03 and a 52-week high of $25.95.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $0.39 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $208.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $208.67 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.40 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 17.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Simmons First National Co. will post 1.66 EPS for the current year.

Simmons First National Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.2125 dividend. This represents a $0.85 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.74%. This is an increase from Simmons First National’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Simmons First National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.42%.

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.