Patten Group Inc. Lowers Holdings in Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC)

Patten Group Inc. decreased its holdings in Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC) by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 20,696 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 1,649 shares during the period. Patten Group Inc.’s holdings in Simmons First National were worth $364,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SFNC. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 1.8% during the 2nd 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 period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 66.6% during the 2nd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 19,443 shares of the bank’s stock worth $342,000 after purchasing an additional 7,770 shares during the period. Silver Lake Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Simmons First National during the 2nd quarter worth about $283,000. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 73,077 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,285,000 after purchasing an additional 1,186 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 161.0% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,843 shares of the bank’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,137 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.58% of the company’s stock.

Simmons First National Stock Up 0.2 %

NASDAQ SFNC traded up $0.04 on Monday, reaching $21.34. The company had a trading volume of 89,012 shares, compared to its average volume of 505,879. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.68 billion, a PE ratio of 16.02 and a beta of 0.88. Simmons First National Co. has a 1 year low of $13.36 and a 1 year high of $22.29. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $19.13 and a 200-day moving average of $18.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.02. Simmons First National had a return on equity of 5.33% and a net margin of 10.49%. The firm had revenue of $372.44 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $197.30 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.48 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Simmons First National Co. will post 1.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Simmons First National Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.94%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Simmons First National’s payout ratio is 63.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Simmons First National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Stephens boosted their target price on 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 upped their price target on Simmons First National from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Simmons First National from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $21.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at Simmons First National

In other Simmons First National news, Chairman George Makris, Jr. sold 21,420 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the chairman now directly owns 608,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,128,128.26. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Simmons First National news, Chairman George Makris, Jr. sold 21,420 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the chairman now directly owns 608,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,128,128.26. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert A. Fehlman sold 8,680 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.93, for a total value of $190,352.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 156,357 shares in the company, valued at $3,428,909.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.91% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.