JPMorgan Chase & Co. Boosts Stock Position in Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC - Free Report) by 33.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 676,171 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 170,821 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 0.54% of Simmons First National worth $14,565,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 5.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,778 shares of the bank's stock worth $168,000 after purchasing an additional 403 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in Simmons First National by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 4,129 shares of the bank's stock valued at $89,000 after buying an additional 497 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in Simmons First National by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 35,085 shares of the bank's stock worth $617,000 after acquiring an additional 686 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Simmons First National by 29.0% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,648 shares of the bank's stock worth $100,000 after acquiring an additional 1,045 shares during the period. Finally, Jag Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 1.2% during the third quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 119,236 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,568,000 after acquiring an additional 1,431 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Transactions at Simmons First National

In other news, CEO Robert A. Fehlman sold 15,270 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.02, for a total transaction of $366,785.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 156,357 shares in the company, valued at $3,755,695.14. This represents a 8.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO David W. Garner sold 5,090 shares of Simmons First National stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.25, for a total transaction of $128,522.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 64,966 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,640,391.50. This trade represents a 7.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 45,800 shares of company stock valued at $1,136,650 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.91% of the company's stock.

Simmons First National Stock Down 3.9 %

NASDAQ:SFNC traded down $0.86 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $20.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 727,840 shares, compared to its average volume of 617,640. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $23.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $21.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The company has a market capitalization of $2.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.55 and a beta of 0.87. Simmons First National Co. has a 12 month low of $16.03 and a 12 month high of $25.95.

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

Simmons First National Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Simmons First National's dividend payout ratio is currently 82.35%.

Simmons First National 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.