Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC) Short Interest Update

Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC) saw a significant decrease in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 2,060,000 shares, a decrease of 15.2% from the February 13th total of 2,430,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 615,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.3 days. Approximately 1.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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 report on Thursday, January 23rd.

Simmons First National Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ SFNC opened at $20.63 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $21.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The company has a market capitalization of $2.60 billion, a PE ratio of 17.05 and a beta of 0.84. Simmons First National has a 12-month low of $16.03 and a 12-month high of $25.95.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company’s revenue was up 17.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.40 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Simmons First National will post 1.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Simmons First National Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.2125 dividend. This represents a $0.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.12%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Simmons First National’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Simmons First National’s payout ratio is currently 70.25%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Simmons First National

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Simmons First National in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $462,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its position in Simmons First National by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 27,396 shares of the bank’s stock worth $613,000 after purchasing an additional 1,049 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in Simmons First National by 28.5% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 235,147 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,216,000 after purchasing an additional 52,089 shares during the last quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd increased its position in Simmons First National by 33.9% during the fourth quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd now owns 16,729 shares of the bank’s stock worth $371,000 after purchasing an additional 4,234 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Twinbeech Capital LP acquired a new position in Simmons First National during the fourth quarter worth approximately $226,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.58% of the company’s stock.

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.