Numerai GP LLC Invests $4.93 Million in Simmons First National Corporation $SFNC

Numerai GP LLC purchased a new position in Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 257,179 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $4,930,000. Simmons First National comprises approximately 0.7% of Numerai GP LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Simmons First National by 197.5% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,663 shares of the bank’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,104 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 42.5% during the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,175 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 649 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its position in shares of Simmons First National by 32.0% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,658 shares of the bank’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 644 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Simmons First National by 24.3% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,260 shares of the bank’s stock worth $82,000 after buying an additional 834 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 68.4% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 5,938 shares of the bank’s stock worth $114,000 after buying an additional 2,412 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on SFNC shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Simmons First National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Piper Sandler raised shares of Simmons First National from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Simmons First National from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $23.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Simmons First National from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Simmons First National from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.43.

Simmons First National Stock Performance

SFNC stock opened at $18.72 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.41. Simmons First National Corporation has a 12-month low of $17.00 and a 12-month high of $22.17. The firm has a market cap of $2.71 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.76 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The bank reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $249.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $238.68 million. Simmons First National had a positive return on equity of 6.73% and a negative net margin of 27.83%.The business’s revenue was up 19.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.39 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Simmons First National Corporation will post 1.66 EPS for the current year.

Simmons First National announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $175.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the bank to repurchase up to 5.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Simmons First National Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.215 per share. This represents a $0.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This is an increase from Simmons First National’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Simmons First National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -31.05%.

About Simmons First National

Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC) is a bank holding company headquartered in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Through its primary operating subsidiary, Simmons Bank, the company maintains a network of more than 200 branches across Arkansas, Tennessee, Missouri, Mississippi, Texas, Oklahoma and North Carolina. Simmons First National offers a full suite of financial services to individuals, small businesses and commercial clients, emphasizing relationship-driven community banking.

The company’s core business activities span deposit-taking, lending and payment services.