Sei Investments Co. Decreases Holdings in Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC)

Sei Investments Co. cut its holdings in Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC - Free Report) by 7.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 189,416 shares of the bank's stock after selling 16,219 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. owned 0.15% of Simmons First National worth $4,201,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Simmons First National by 5.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,778 shares of the bank's stock worth $168,000 after buying an additional 403 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 48.3% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 40,294 shares of the bank's stock worth $868,000 after acquiring an additional 13,124 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in shares of Simmons First National by 36.5% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 33,822 shares of the bank's stock worth $729,000 after purchasing an additional 9,049 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in Simmons First National in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $237,000. Finally, Centiva Capital LP purchased a new stake in Simmons First National in the third quarter valued at approximately $354,000. 27.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Stephens lowered their price target on Simmons First National from $29.00 to $28.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd.

Simmons First National Stock Down 0.2 %

Simmons First National stock traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $18.23. 928,879 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 581,534. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Simmons First National Co. has a twelve month low of $13.50 and a twelve month high of $25.95. The company has a market cap of $2.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.07 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a fifty day moving average of $21.33 and a 200-day moving average of $22.41.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC - Get Free Report) last released 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. The firm had revenue of $208.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $208.67 million. Simmons First National had a return on equity of 5.10% and a net margin of 10.46%. Simmons First National's revenue for the quarter was up 17.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.40 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Simmons First National Co. will post 1.66 EPS for the current year.

Simmons First National Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.2125 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.66%. This is an increase from Simmons First National's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Simmons First National's payout ratio is currently 70.25%.

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.