Numerai GP LLC Invests $4.93 Million in Simmons First National Corporation $SFNC

Numerai GP LLC bought a new position in Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 257,179 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $4,930,000. Simmons First National accounts for approximately 0.7% of Numerai GP LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Numerai GP LLC owned about 0.18% of Simmons First National as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SFNC. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 27.2% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 88,632 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,820,000 after purchasing an additional 18,933 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 271.3% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 158,856 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,261,000 after purchasing an additional 116,072 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 73,861 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,516,000 after purchasing an additional 3,221 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in Simmons First National by 3,624.6% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 13,036 shares of the bank’s stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 12,686 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in Simmons First National by 1,288.2% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 18,046 shares of the bank’s stock worth $411,000 after purchasing an additional 16,746 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.58% of the company’s stock.

Simmons First National Stock Up 0.6%

NASDAQ SFNC opened at $18.72 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.71 billion, a PE ratio of -6.76 and a beta of 0.91. Simmons First National Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $17.00 and a fifty-two week high of $22.17. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $20.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 20th. The bank reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.05. Simmons First National had a negative net margin of 27.83% and a positive return on equity of 6.73%. The company had revenue of $249.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $238.68 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.39 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Simmons First National Corporation will post 1.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Simmons First National Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.215 per share. This is a positive change from Simmons First National’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.6%. Simmons First National’s payout ratio is presently -31.05%.

Simmons First National declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 17th that permits the company to repurchase $175.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the bank to purchase up to 5.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SFNC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Simmons First National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Zacks Research raised shares of Simmons First National from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. National Bank Financial set a $21.00 target price on shares of Simmons First National in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Simmons First National from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded Simmons First National from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Simmons First National has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.43.

About Simmons First National

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.