Systematic Financial Management LP Takes $824,000 Position in Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC)

Systematic Financial Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 38,269 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $824,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 6.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,323,934 shares of the bank's stock valued at $128,752,000 after acquiring an additional 413,459 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased 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 in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its holdings in Simmons First National by 3.7% in the second quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 1,677,924 shares of the bank's stock worth $29,498,000 after buying an additional 59,495 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 9,443.9% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,395,980 shares of the bank's stock worth $24,541,000 after buying an additional 1,381,353 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 28.0% during the second quarter. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. now owns 705,138 shares of the bank's stock valued at $12,396,000 after buying an additional 154,128 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on SFNC shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Simmons First National from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Stephens upgraded Simmons First National from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $27.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Monday, October 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $23.00.

Simmons First National Stock Performance

Shares of SFNC traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $24.24. 435,727 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 665,558. Simmons First National Co. has a 1 year low of $16.03 and a 1 year high of $25.95. The stock has a market cap of $3.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.76 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $23.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.73.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The bank reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $204.91 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.39 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Simmons First National Co. will post 1.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Simmons First National Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Simmons First National's dividend payout ratio is currently 82.35%.

Insider Activity at Simmons First National

In other news, Chairman George Makris, Jr. sold 25,440 shares of Simmons First National stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.21, for a total transaction of $641,342.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 608,347 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,336,427.87. The trade was a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Robert A. Fehlman sold 15,270 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.02, for a total value of $366,785.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 156,357 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,755,695.14. The trade was a 8.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 45,800 shares of company stock worth $1,136,650 in the last quarter. 1.91% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.