Empowered Funds LLC Grows Stake in Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC)

Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC - Free Report) by 5.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 356,500 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 17,358 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC owned about 0.28% of Simmons First National worth $7,907,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 35,456 shares of the bank's stock valued at $623,000 after purchasing an additional 1,744 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 59,025 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,038,000 after purchasing an additional 2,174 shares during the period. Naviter Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Simmons First National during the 3rd quarter valued at $292,000. Alexander Labrunerie & CO. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Simmons First National during the 3rd quarter valued at $209,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 2,078.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 14,946 shares of the bank's stock valued at $322,000 after purchasing an additional 14,260 shares during the period. 27.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Simmons First National Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SFNC traded down $0.23 on Friday, hitting $22.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 408,797 shares, compared to its average volume of 551,977. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $22.31. Simmons First National Co. has a 1 year low of $16.03 and a 1 year high of $25.95. The company has a market capitalization of $2.82 billion, a PE ratio of 18.59 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $208.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $208.67 million. Simmons First National had a return on equity of 5.10% and a net margin of 10.46%. The company's revenue was up 17.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.40 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Simmons First National Co. 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 dividend of $0.2125 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Simmons First National's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.85 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.78%. Simmons First National's dividend payout ratio is 69.42%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Robert A. Fehlman sold 15,270 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.02, for a total transaction of $366,785.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 156,357 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,755,695.14. This represents a 8.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.91% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on SFNC. StockNews.com upgraded Simmons First National from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Stephens lowered their price target on Simmons First National from $29.00 to $28.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd.

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.