Carlson Capital L.P. Buys New Shares in Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC)

Carlson Capital L.P. bought a new stake in Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 20,900 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $464,000. Simmons First National comprises 0.3% of Carlson Capital L.P.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Simmons First National by 33.8% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 676,171 shares of the bank's stock valued at $14,565,000 after acquiring an additional 170,821 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Simmons First National by 131.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 247,821 shares of the bank's stock valued at $5,337,000 after acquiring an additional 140,738 shares during the period. Dean Investment Associates LLC raised its holdings in Simmons First National by 231.6% in the 3rd quarter. Dean Investment Associates LLC now owns 137,352 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,959,000 after acquiring an additional 95,928 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Simmons First National by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,866,142 shares of the bank's stock valued at $40,197,000 after acquiring an additional 65,992 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new position in Simmons First National in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,339,000. 27.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Stephens lowered 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 report on Thursday, January 23rd.

Simmons First National Stock Performance

Shares of SFNC traded up $0.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $21.97. 633,873 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 520,855. Simmons First National Co. has a 52 week low of $16.03 and a 52 week high of $25.95. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $22.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.47. The firm has a market cap of $2.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.16 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $208.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $208.67 million. Simmons First National had a net margin of 10.46% and a return on equity of 5.10%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 17.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.40 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Simmons First National Co. will post 1.66 EPS 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 paid a $0.2125 dividend. This represents a $0.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.87%. This is a boost from Simmons First National's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Simmons First National's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.25%.

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.