Jane Street Group LLC Buys 47,820 Shares of Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC)

Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC - Free Report) by 43.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 158,099 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 47,820 shares during the quarter. Jane Street Group LLC owned 0.13% of Simmons First National worth $3,405,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SFNC. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Simmons First National by 66.6% during the 2nd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 19,443 shares of the bank's stock worth $342,000 after purchasing an additional 7,770 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $1,109,000 after buying an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Simmons First National during the second quarter worth about $269,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 6.6% in the 2nd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 174,725 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,072,000 after acquiring an additional 10,765 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 1900 Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Simmons First National by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC now owns 48,948 shares of the bank's stock valued at $860,000 after acquiring an additional 533 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.58% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Simmons First National

In other Simmons First National news, CEO Robert A. Fehlman sold 15,270 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.02, for a total value of $366,785.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 156,357 shares in the company, valued at $3,755,695.14. This represents a 8.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman George Makris, Jr. sold 25,440 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.21, for a total transaction of $641,342.40. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 608,347 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,336,427.87. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 45,800 shares of company stock valued at $1,136,650 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.91% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com raised Simmons First National from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Stephens raised shares of Simmons First National from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $23.00.

Simmons First National Stock Performance

Shares of SFNC stock traded up $0.36 on Friday, hitting $22.49. 3,138,462 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 556,294. The firm's 50 day moving average is $23.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.09. Simmons First National Co. has a one year low of $16.03 and a one year high of $25.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.82 billion, a PE ratio of 22.05 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $203.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $204.91 million. Simmons First National had a net margin of 8.94% and a return on equity of 5.15%. The company's revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.39 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Simmons First National Co. will post 1.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Simmons First National Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.73%. Simmons First National's dividend payout ratio is currently 82.35%.

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.