Highland Capital Management LLC Sells 10,000 Shares of Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC)

Highland Capital Management LLC decreased its position in Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC) by 28.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,205 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 10,000 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Simmons First National were worth $559,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of SFNC. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Simmons First National by 4.4% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 646,325 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $13,922,000 after acquiring an additional 27,479 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 3.7% in 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 during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Simmons First National in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,339,000. Systematic Financial Management LP bought a new position in shares of Simmons First National during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $824,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Simmons First National by 33.8% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 676,171 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,565,000 after buying an additional 170,821 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Simmons First National

In related news, Chairman George Makris, Jr. sold 25,440 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.21, for a total value of $641,342.40. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 608,347 shares in the company, valued at $15,336,427.87. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO David W. Garner sold 5,090 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.25, for a total value of $128,522.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 64,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,640,391.50. This represents a 7.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 45,800 shares of company stock valued at $1,136,650 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.91% of the company’s stock.

Simmons First National Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of SFNC opened at $22.72 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The company has a market cap of $2.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.78 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $22.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $22.20. Simmons First National Co. has a 52-week low of $16.03 and a 52-week high of $25.95.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.03. Simmons First National had a return on equity of 5.10% and a net margin of 10.46%. The business had revenue of $208.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $208.67 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.40 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Simmons First National Co. will post 1.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Simmons First National Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.2125 per share. This is a boost from Simmons First National’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.85 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Simmons First National’s dividend payout ratio is 69.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Stephens dropped their price objective on Simmons First National from $29.00 to $28.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Simmons First National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st.

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.