Geode Capital Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC)

Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC - Free Report) by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,992,851 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 37,519 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 2.38% of Simmons First National worth $64,478,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of SFNC. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 1.8% during the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 63,100 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,109,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Simmons First National in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $269,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 6.6% during the second quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 174,725 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,072,000 after acquiring an additional 10,765 shares during the last quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 1.1% during the second quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC now owns 48,948 shares of the bank's stock worth $860,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 7.0% in the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 24,773 shares of the bank's stock worth $436,000 after purchasing an additional 1,619 shares during the last quarter. 27.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Robert A. Fehlman sold 15,270 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.02, for a total value of $366,785.40. Following 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO David W. Garner sold 5,090 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 64,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,640,391.50. This trade represents a 7.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 45,800 shares of company stock worth $1,136,650. Company insiders own 1.91% of the company's stock.

Simmons First National Trading Up 1.6 %

NASDAQ SFNC traded up $0.36 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $22.49. 3,138,462 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 556,294. The firm has a market cap of $2.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.05 and a beta of 0.86. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.19. 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 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 data on Friday, October 18th. The bank reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $203.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $204.91 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.39 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Simmons First National Co. will post 1.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Simmons First National Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.73%. Simmons First National's dividend payout ratio is currently 82.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on SFNC. Stephens raised Simmons First National from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $27.00 to $28.00 in a report on Monday, October 21st. StockNews.com upgraded Simmons First National from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $23.00.

Simmons First National Company 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.