Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC) Shares Purchased by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC - Free Report) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 673,440 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 27,115 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.54% of Simmons First National worth $14,937,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Simmons First National by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,992,851 shares of the bank's stock valued at $64,478,000 after acquiring an additional 37,519 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Simmons First National by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,866,142 shares of the bank's stock valued at $40,197,000 after purchasing an additional 65,992 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 33.8% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 676,171 shares of the bank's stock valued at $14,565,000 after purchasing an additional 170,821 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 356,500 shares of the bank's stock worth $7,907,000 after purchasing an additional 17,358 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 131.4% during 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. 27.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Stephens cut their price target on shares of Simmons First National from $29.00 to $28.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd.

Simmons First National Stock Performance

SFNC traded up $0.28 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $21.97. 633,873 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 520,855. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $22.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.16 and a beta of 0.86. Simmons First National Co. has a 1-year low of $16.03 and a 1-year high of $25.95. 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 (NASDAQ:SFNC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.03. Simmons First National had a return on equity of 5.10% and a net margin of 10.46%. The firm had revenue of $208.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $208.67 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.40 earnings per share. Simmons First National's revenue for the quarter was up 17.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Simmons First National Co. will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Simmons First National Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.2125 dividend. This is a boost from Simmons First National's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.85 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.87%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Simmons First National's payout ratio is currently 70.25%.

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.