Carlson Capital L.P. Buys New Holdings in Simmons First National Corporation $SFNC

Carlson Capital L.P. purchased a new position in Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 27,000 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $509,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Simmons First National in the 3rd quarter valued at $129,282,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Simmons First National by 12.0% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,419,609 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $314,764,000 after buying an additional 1,763,161 shares during the last quarter. Azora Capital LP acquired a new stake in Simmons First National in the third quarter valued at $13,177,000. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp acquired a new stake in Simmons First National in the third quarter valued at $7,794,000. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Simmons First National during the 3rd quarter worth about $6,372,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Stephens increased their price objective on Simmons First National from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Simmons First National from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $21.00 price target on shares of Simmons First National in a report on Friday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Simmons First National from $23.00 to $21.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Simmons First National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Two 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.00.

Simmons First National Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of Simmons First National stock opened at $21.27 on Friday. Simmons First National Corporation has a one year low of $17.00 and a one year high of $22.17. The company has a market cap of $3.09 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.31 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $20.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $19.53.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The bank reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.47. Simmons First National had a negative net margin of 25.44% and a positive return on equity of 7.81%. The business had revenue of $241.37 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $243.02 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.26 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Simmons First National Corporation will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Simmons First National declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, February 17th that allows the company to buyback $175.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the bank to reacquire up to 5.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.