Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $13.92 Million Stock Position in Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC - Free Report) by 4.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 646,325 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 27,479 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.51% of Simmons First National worth $13,922,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in SFNC. FMR LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $168,000 after acquiring an additional 403 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of Simmons First National by 13.7% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 4,129 shares of the bank's stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 497 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 2.0% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 35,085 shares of the bank's stock worth $617,000 after buying an additional 686 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 29.0% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,648 shares of the bank's stock worth $100,000 after buying an additional 1,045 shares during the period. Finally, Jag Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Simmons First National by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 119,236 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,568,000 after buying an additional 1,431 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.58% of the company's stock.

Simmons First National Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SFNC traded down $0.23 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $22.35. 476,690 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 553,470. 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 Co. has a twelve month low of $16.03 and a twelve month high of $25.95. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $23.82 and a 200 day moving average of $21.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.91 and a beta of 0.86.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The bank reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.04. Simmons First National had a net margin of 8.94% and a return on equity of 5.15%. The business had revenue of $203.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $204.91 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.39 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Simmons First National Co. will post 1.33 EPS for the current year.

Simmons First National Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.76%. Simmons First National's dividend payout ratio is currently 82.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on SFNC. Stephens raised shares of Simmons First National from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $27.00 to $28.00 in a research 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 assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $23.00.

Insider Transactions at Simmons First National

In other Simmons First National news, CEO Robert A. Fehlman sold 15,270 shares of the firm'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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 156,357 shares in the company, valued at $3,755,695.14. This trade represents a 8.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO David W. Garner sold 5,090 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 64,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,640,391.50. This represents a 7.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 45,800 shares of company stock valued at $1,136,650. 1.91% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.