Simmons First National Corporation $SFNC Shares Sold by Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada cut its stake in shares of Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNCFree Report) by 56.7% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 40,458 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 52,953 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in Simmons First National were worth $787,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in Simmons First National by 17,016.7% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 125,294 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,437,000 after purchasing an additional 124,562 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Simmons First National by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,558,574 shares of the bank’s stock worth $67,090,000 after purchasing an additional 53,994 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its stake in Simmons First National by 213.2% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 206,793 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,022,000 after purchasing an additional 140,769 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Simmons First National by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,471,523 shares of the bank’s stock worth $310,488,000 after buying an additional 51,914 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Simmons First National by 33.5% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 625,391 shares of the bank’s stock worth $12,164,000 after buying an additional 157,061 shares during the period. 27.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Simmons First National Stock Performance

Shares of SFNC stock opened at $23.01 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Simmons First National Corporation has a 52 week low of $17.00 and a 52 week high of $24.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.33 billion, a PE ratio of -9.09 and a beta of 0.91. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $23.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.49.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNCGet Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 16th. The bank reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.03). Simmons First National had a positive return on equity of 8.32% and a negative net margin of 24.64%.During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.44 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Simmons First National Corporation will post 2.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Simmons First National Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.215 per share. This represents a $0.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. Simmons First National’s payout ratio is presently -33.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on SFNC. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of Simmons First National in a report on Friday, July 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Simmons First National from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. National Bank Financial set a $25.00 target price on Simmons First National in a report on Monday, July 20th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a “positive” rating on shares of Simmons First National in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Simmons First National in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $24.50.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Simmons First National

Simmons First National Profile

(Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC)

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