Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. Sells 156,321 Shares of Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC)

Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC - Free Report) by 16.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 774,619 shares of the bank's stock after selling 156,321 shares during the quarter. Simmons First National accounts for about 1.3% of Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. owned 0.62% of Simmons First National worth $17,181,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Jones Financial Companies Lllp acquired a new stake in Simmons First National during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Simmons First National by 168.3% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,144 shares of the bank's stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 1,345 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Simmons First National by 813.8% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,911 shares of the bank's stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 3,483 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 31.0% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,091 shares of the bank's stock worth $135,000 after acquiring an additional 1,443 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,778 shares of the bank's stock worth $168,000 after acquiring an additional 403 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.58% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SFNC. Piper Sandler upgraded Simmons First National from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the company from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Simmons First National from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, Stephens cut their price target on shares of Simmons First National from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday.

Simmons First National Stock Up 1.2 %

NASDAQ SFNC traded up $0.22 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $18.15. 715,128 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 606,140. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Simmons First National Co. has a fifty-two week low of $16.03 and a fifty-two week high of $25.95. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $20.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.29 billion, a PE ratio of 15.00 and a beta of 0.82.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The bank reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $209.58 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $209.00 million. Simmons First National had a return on equity of 5.10% and a net margin of 10.46%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.32 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Simmons First National Co. will post 1.66 EPS for the current year.

Simmons First National Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.2125 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Simmons First National's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.68%. Simmons First National's dividend payout ratio is 73.28%.

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.