JPMorgan Chase & Co. Has $22.43 Million Stake in Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC - Free Report) by 49.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,011,431 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 335,260 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 0.81% of Simmons First National worth $22,434,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Simmons First National by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,866,647 shares of the bank's stock worth $329,742,000 after buying an additional 630,376 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its position in Simmons First National by 131.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 247,821 shares of the bank's stock worth $5,337,000 after purchasing an additional 140,738 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Simmons First National by 27.1% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 515,690 shares of the bank's stock worth $11,438,000 after purchasing an additional 109,866 shares during the last quarter. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Simmons First National during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,468,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new position in shares of Simmons First National in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,339,000. 27.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Simmons First National Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of Simmons First National stock traded up $0.27 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $18.28. 45,685 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 591,817. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.11 and a beta of 0.82. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $20.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.24. 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 Co. has a 1-year low of $16.03 and a 1-year high of $25.95.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $208.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $208.67 million. Simmons First National had a net margin of 10.46% and a return on equity of 5.10%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 17.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.40 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Simmons First National Co. will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Simmons First National Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.2125 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.65%. This is a positive change from Simmons First National's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Simmons First National's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 70.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Stephens reduced their price objective on shares of Simmons First National from $29.00 to $28.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note 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.