George Makris, Jr. Sells 21,420 Shares of Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC) Stock

Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC) Chairman George Makris, Jr. sold 21,420 shares of Simmons First National stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.58, for a total value of $462,243.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 608,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,128,128.26. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Simmons First National Stock Performance

SFNC traded up $0.18 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $21.45. The stock had a trading volume of 513,696 shares, compared to its average volume of 508,041. Simmons First National Co. has a 1 year low of $13.36 and a 1 year high of $22.29. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $18.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.41. The stock has a market cap of $2.69 billion, a PE ratio of 15.99 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $372.44 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $197.30 million. Simmons First National had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 5.33%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.48 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Simmons First National Co. will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Simmons First National Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.92%. Simmons First National’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.16%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Simmons First National

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Simmons First National during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Simmons First National by 161.0% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,843 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 1,137 shares in the last quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Simmons First National by 250,150.0% during the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 10,010 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $199,000 after buying an additional 10,006 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Simmons First National in the first quarter worth about $227,000. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Simmons First National in the first quarter worth about $252,000. 27.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on SFNC. Stephens raised their price target on shares of Simmons First National from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Simmons First National from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Simmons First National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Simmons First National from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.75.

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.