King Luther Capital Management Corp Sells 50,562 Shares of Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC)

King Luther Capital Management Corp lowered its stake in shares of Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC) by 23.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 162,141 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 50,562 shares during the quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp’s holdings in Simmons First National were worth $3,217,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in Simmons First National in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Simmons First National by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,590 shares of the bank’s stock worth $230,000 after buying an additional 1,590 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Simmons First National by 1,314.8% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 12,875 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $218,000 after buying an additional 11,965 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Simmons First National during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $219,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Simmons First National by 978.8% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 13,323 shares of the bank’s stock worth $264,000 after acquiring an additional 12,088 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.58% of the company’s stock.

Simmons First National Trading Down 0.2 %

NASDAQ SFNC traded down $0.04 on Friday, hitting $17.48. 12,808 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 480,310. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. Simmons First National Co. has a 52-week low of $13.36 and a 52-week high of $20.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.17 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $18.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $18.32.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32. The firm had revenue of $195.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $202.35 million. Simmons First National had a net margin of 11.97% and a return on equity of 5.94%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.37 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Simmons First National Co. will post 1.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Simmons First National Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Simmons First National’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.16%.

Insider Activity at Simmons First National

In other Simmons First National news, EVP George A. Makris III sold 15,625 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.23, for a total value of $269,218.75. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 39,707 shares in the company, valued at $684,151.61. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.91% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SFNC has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com downgraded Simmons First National from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Simmons First National from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Stephens decreased their target price on shares of Simmons First National from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Simmons First National from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Simmons First National presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.00.

Simmons First National Company Profile

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.