Ergoteles LLC Makes New $220,000 Investment in Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC)

Ergoteles LLC bought a new position in shares of Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC – Get Rating) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 10,098 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $220,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EMC Capital Management grew its position in Simmons First National by 47.0% during the second quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 1,354 shares of the bank’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 433 shares during the period. Wipfli Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Simmons First National during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Simmons First National during the second quarter worth about $38,000. CWM LLC grew its position in Simmons First National by 30.7% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,141 shares of the bank’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 503 shares during the period. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Simmons First National during the second quarter worth about $67,000. 13.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SFNC has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Simmons First National from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 28th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Simmons First National from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 25th.

Insider Activity at Simmons First National

In related news, Director Dean O. Bass sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.96, for a total transaction of $229,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 139,975 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,213,826. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Simmons First National news, Director Dean O. Bass sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.93, for a total transaction of $171,975.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 159,975 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,668,226.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Dean O. Bass sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.96, for a total transaction of $229,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 139,975 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,213,826. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Simmons First National Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ SFNC opened at $21.51 on Tuesday. Simmons First National Co. has a 12-month low of $19.34 and a 12-month high of $28.95. The company has a market capitalization of $2.74 billion, a PE ratio of 10.39 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $22.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.76.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 24th. The bank reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $309.23 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $244.05 million. Simmons First National had a net margin of 24.85% and a return on equity of 9.40%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Simmons First National Co. will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Simmons First National Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This is an increase from Simmons First National’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 14th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.72%. Simmons First National’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.65%.

Simmons First National Company Profile

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Simmons First National Corp. is a financial holding company, which engages in the provision of banking and other financial products and services to individual and corporate customers. It conducts banking operations in communities throughout Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas.