Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC) Short Interest Down 15.2% in February

Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 2,060,000 shares, a decrease of 15.2% from the February 13th total of 2,430,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 615,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.3 days. Currently, 1.7% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Simmons First National Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:SFNC opened at $20.75 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.61 billion, a PE ratio of 17.15 and a beta of 0.84. Simmons First National has a 12-month low of $16.03 and a 12-month high of $25.95. The business has a 50 day moving average of $21.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $208.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $208.67 million. Simmons First National had a net margin of 10.46% and a return on equity of 5.10%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.40 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Simmons First National will post 1.66 EPS for the current year.

Simmons First National Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.2125 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Simmons First National’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.10%. Simmons First National’s payout ratio is 70.25%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Simmons First National

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Simmons First National by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 673,440 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,937,000 after purchasing an additional 27,115 shares during the period. Carlson Capital L.P. purchased a new position in Simmons First National in the 4th quarter valued at about $464,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 worth $40,197,000 after buying an additional 65,992 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Simmons First National during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,339,000. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Simmons First National in the third quarter valued at approximately $824,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Stephens decreased their price objective on shares of 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.

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.