Brokerages Set Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC) PT at $22.33

Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eight brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation, two have issued a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $22.3333.

SFNC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Simmons First National in a report on Monday. Zacks Research cut shares of Simmons First National from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Piper Sandler raised shares of Simmons First National from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Simmons First National from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Baird R W raised Simmons First National from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th.

Insider Activity

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Simmons First National

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SFNC. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Simmons First National in the 3rd quarter valued at about $129,282,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 12.0% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,419,609 shares of the bank’s stock worth $314,764,000 after buying an additional 1,763,161 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 1,179.6% during the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 969,027 shares of the bank’s stock worth $19,894,000 after buying an additional 893,298 shares in the last quarter. Azora Capital LP acquired a new stake in Simmons First National in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $13,177,000. Finally, Mendon Capital Advisors Corp bought a new stake in Simmons First National in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $7,794,000. 27.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Simmons First National Trading Down 0.1%

NASDAQ SFNC opened at $19.25 on Tuesday. Simmons First National has a 12 month low of $17.00 and a 12 month high of $23.44. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company has a market capitalization of $2.79 billion, a PE ratio of -6.57 and a beta of 0.92.

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

Simmons First National Dividend Announcement

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

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.