Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Sells 5,711 Shares of Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund decreased its stake in shares of Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC) by 7.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 69,655 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 5,711 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Simmons First National were worth $1,382,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in Simmons First National by 14.2% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 25,095 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $498,000 after buying an additional 3,127 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Simmons First National by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC now owns 70,298 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,408,000 after buying an additional 2,550 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio lifted its holdings in Simmons First National by 23.9% during the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 52,300 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,037,000 after buying an additional 10,100 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in Simmons First National during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,242,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Simmons First National by 978.8% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 13,323 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $264,000 after buying an additional 12,088 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.58% of the company’s stock.

Simmons First National Trading Down 2.0 %

NASDAQ SFNC opened at $17.50 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market cap of $2.19 billion, a PE ratio of 13.16 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $18.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.99. Simmons First National Co. has a 52 week low of $13.36 and a 52 week high of $20.82.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.32. The firm had revenue of $195.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $202.35 million. Simmons First National had a net margin of 11.97% and a return on equity of 5.94%. Simmons First National’s revenue was down 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.37 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Simmons First National Co. will post 1.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Simmons First National Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.80%. Simmons First National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on SFNC shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Simmons First National from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Simmons First National from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Stephens reduced their price target on shares of Simmons First National from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Simmons First National from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.00.

About Simmons First National

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.