Intech Investment Management LLC Buys New Holdings in Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC)

Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 31,417 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $677,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SFNC. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 4,129 shares of the bank's stock worth $89,000 after buying an additional 497 shares during the last quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC now owns 48,948 shares of the bank's stock worth $860,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in Simmons First National by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 35,085 shares of the bank's stock worth $617,000 after purchasing an additional 686 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its position in Simmons First National by 29.0% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,648 shares of the bank's stock valued at $100,000 after buying an additional 1,045 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its stake in Simmons First National by 1.8% during the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 63,100 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,109,000 after buying an additional 1,100 shares during the period. 27.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO David W. Garner sold 5,090 shares of Simmons First National stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.25, for a total value of $128,522.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 64,966 shares in the company, valued at $1,640,391.50. This trade represents a 7.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Robert A. Fehlman sold 15,270 shares of Simmons First National stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.02, for a total value of $366,785.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 156,357 shares in the company, valued at $3,755,695.14. The trade was a 8.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 45,800 shares of company stock worth $1,136,650. 1.91% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on SFNC. StockNews.com raised shares of Simmons First National from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Stephens upgraded shares of Simmons First National from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $27.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Monday, October 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $23.00.

Simmons First National Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SFNC traded down $0.21 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $24.46. 381,910 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 770,273. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market cap of $3.07 billion, a PE ratio of 23.98 and a beta of 0.86. Simmons First National Co. has a fifty-two week low of $15.85 and a fifty-two week high of $25.95.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The bank reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $203.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $204.91 million. Simmons First National had a return on equity of 5.15% and a net margin of 8.94%. The company's revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.39 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Simmons First National Co. will post 1.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Simmons First National Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.43%. Simmons First National's dividend payout ratio is 82.35%.

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.