Carlson Capital L.P. Acquires 51,624 Shares of Simmons First National Corporation $SFNC

Carlson Capital L.P. raised its stake in shares of Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC) by 191.2% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 78,624 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 51,624 shares during the period. Carlson Capital L.P.’s holdings in Simmons First National were worth $1,529,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SFNC. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Simmons First National by 137.6% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 45,329 shares of the bank’s stock worth $882,000 after purchasing an additional 26,250 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of Simmons First National by 24.7% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 624,613 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $12,149,000 after purchasing an additional 123,732 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its position in shares of Simmons First National by 16.3% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 23,866 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $464,000 after purchasing an additional 3,348 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 31.9% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,339 shares of the bank’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 566 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 28.3% in the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 179,682 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,495,000 after purchasing an additional 39,590 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SFNC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Stephens boosted their target price on Simmons First National from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $23.00 price target on shares of Simmons First National in a report on Friday, July 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Simmons First National in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Simmons First National from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, National Bank Financial set a $25.00 target price on Simmons First National in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Simmons First National has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $24.50.

Simmons First National Stock Performance

Simmons First National stock opened at $23.59 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $22.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a market cap of $3.42 billion, a PE ratio of -9.32 and a beta of 0.90. Simmons First National Corporation has a twelve month low of $17.00 and a twelve month high of $23.91.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The bank reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $248.57 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $250.98 million. Simmons First National had a negative net margin of 24.64% and a positive return on equity of 8.32%. The firm’s revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.44 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Simmons First National Corporation will post 2.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Simmons First National Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.215 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $0.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. Simmons First National’s dividend payout ratio is -33.99%.

Simmons First National Profile

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.