Squarepoint Ops LLC Buys 106,986 Shares of Simmons First National Corporation $SFNC

by · The Markets Daily

Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its position in shares of Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC – Free Report) by 705.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 122,145 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 106,986 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Simmons First National worth $2,316,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Simmons First National during the second quarter valued at approximately $389,000. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 3,737,214 shares of the bank’s stock worth $70,858,000 after acquiring an additional 254,067 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its position in shares of Simmons First National by 7.8% during the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 429,408 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $8,142,000 after acquiring an additional 30,911 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 279.1% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 15,650 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 11,522 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its position in Simmons First National by 97.9% in the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 26,754 shares of the bank’s stock worth $509,000 after purchasing an additional 13,238 shares during the last quarter. 27.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SFNC has been the subject of several research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Simmons First National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 6th. National Bankshares set a $22.00 price target on shares of Simmons First National in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Simmons First National in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Simmons First National in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. They issued a “positive” rating and a $22.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Zacks Research cut Simmons First National from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.33.

Read Our Latest Research Report on Simmons First National

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Simmons First National news, EVP David W. Garner bought 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 22nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $17.66 per share, for a total transaction of $52,980.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 72,345 shares in the company, valued at $1,277,612.70. This trade represents a 4.33% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Steven A. Cosse purchased 8,603 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $17.44 per share, for a total transaction of $150,036.32. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 113,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,982,090.88. The trade was a 8.19% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 1.44% of the company’s stock.

Simmons First National Stock Performance

Simmons First National stock opened at $19.42 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.81 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.63 and a beta of 0.92. Simmons First National Corporation has a 1-year low of $17.00 and a 1-year high of $23.72. The company’s 50-day moving average is $18.31 and its 200 day moving average is $19.18.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The bank reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.47 by ($0.01). Simmons First National had a negative net margin of 29.70% and a positive return on equity of 5.84%. The business had revenue of $232.54 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $103.26 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.37 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Simmons First National Corporation will post 1.66 EPS for the current year.

Simmons First National Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be given a $0.2125 dividend. This represents a $0.85 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. Simmons First National’s dividend payout ratio is -29.01%.

Simmons First National Profile

(Free Report)

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. The company 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; treasury management; insurance products; and securities and investment services.

See Also

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