Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Grows Stock Position in Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC - Free Report) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,895,477 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 29,335 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 1.51% of Simmons First National worth $42,042,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Simmons First National by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 673,440 shares of the bank's stock worth $14,937,000 after acquiring an additional 27,115 shares in the last quarter. Carlson Capital L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Simmons First National during the 4th quarter valued at $464,000. Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Simmons First National during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,339,000. Systematic Financial Management LP bought a new position in Simmons First National in the 3rd quarter worth $824,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Simmons First National by 33.8% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 676,171 shares of the bank's stock worth $14,565,000 after buying an additional 170,821 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Stephens lowered their price objective on 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.

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Simmons First National Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SFNC traded up $0.13 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $20.83. 253,419 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 531,975. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $2.62 billion, a PE ratio of 17.21 and a beta of 0.84. The business's fifty day moving average is $21.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.49. Simmons First National Co. has a one year low of $16.03 and a one year high of $25.95.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 previous year, the firm posted $0.40 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 17.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.2125 per share. This represents a $0.85 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.08%. 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 is 70.25%.

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.