George Makris, Jr. Sells 25,440 Shares of Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC) Stock

Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC) Chairman George Makris, Jr. sold 25,440 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $15,336,427.87. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Simmons First National Price Performance

Shares of Simmons First National stock traded down $0.15 on Friday, hitting $24.37. 143,582 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 538,021. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $22.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.04 and a beta of 0.86. Simmons First National Co. has a 1-year low of $15.72 and a 1-year high of $25.95.

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

Simmons First National Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Simmons First National’s payout ratio is currently 82.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SFNC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler increased 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Simmons First National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Stephens raised Simmons First National from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $27.00 to $28.00 in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Simmons First National from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $23.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Simmons First National

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 403 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its position in Simmons First National by 13.7% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 4,129 shares of the bank’s stock worth $89,000 after acquiring an additional 497 shares during the period. 1900 Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Simmons First National by 1.1% during the second quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC now owns 48,948 shares of the bank’s stock worth $860,000 after acquiring an additional 533 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in Simmons First National by 2.0% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 35,085 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $617,000 after purchasing an additional 686 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 29.0% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,648 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $100,000 after purchasing an additional 1,045 shares during the last quarter. 27.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.