State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Takes $2.33 Million Position in Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC)

Posted by MarketBeat News on Aug 4th, 2022

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D bought a new stake in shares of Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC – Get Rating) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 88,798 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $2,328,000. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D owned 0.08% of Simmons First National as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Simmons First National by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,009,227 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $29,853,000 after acquiring an additional 79,789 shares during the period. Strs Ohio boosted its holdings in Simmons First National by 900.0% in the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 4,000 shares of the bank’s stock worth $118,000 after buying an additional 3,600 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Simmons First National by 119.7% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,969,799 shares of the bank’s stock worth $58,266,000 after buying an additional 1,073,187 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Simmons First National by 27.8% in the 4th quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 2,830,239 shares of the bank’s stock worth $83,719,000 after buying an additional 615,775 shares during the period. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Simmons First National in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,083,000. 46.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Simmons First National Stock Performance

NASDAQ SFNC opened at $23.72 on Thursday. Simmons First National Co. has a 1 year low of $19.87 and a 1 year high of $32.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.10 billion, a PE ratio of 12.16 and a beta of 0.87. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $22.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.48.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 21st. The bank reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.06. Simmons First National had a net margin of 25.19% and a return on equity of 8.73%. The business had revenue of $225.28 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $228.57 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.69 EPS. Analysts predict that Simmons First National Co. will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Simmons First National Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, September 15th will be paid a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 14th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.20%. Simmons First National’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on SFNC. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Simmons First National to $24.50 in a report on Monday, July 4th. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Simmons First National to $25.00 in a report on Monday, July 25th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Simmons First National from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 28th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Simmons First National

In other news, Director Dean O. Bass sold 8,810 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.86, for a total value of $201,396.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 244,535 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,590,070.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Dean O. Bass sold 7,334 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.88, for a total transaction of $175,135.92. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 230,680 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,508,638.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Dean O. Bass sold 8,810 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.86, for a total value of $201,396.60. Following the transaction, the director now owns 244,535 shares in the company, valued at $5,590,070.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 26,144 shares of company stock worth $626,533 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Simmons First National Company Profile

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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. It 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; insurance products; and securities and investment services.