Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Issues Positive Forecast for Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) Stock Price

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) had its price objective increased by equities research analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $24.00 to $25.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “market perform” rating on the bank’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ target price would suggest a potential upside of 8.93% from the company’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also commented on SFNC. Morgan Stanley restated a “positive” rating on shares of Simmons First National in a report on Monday, June 29th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $23.00 price objective on shares of Simmons First National in a research note on Friday. Stephens increased their price objective on shares of Simmons First National from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. National Bank Financial set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Simmons First National in a research report on Monday. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Simmons First National from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Simmons First National presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.50.

Simmons First National Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SFNC opened at $22.95 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.33 billion, a PE ratio of -9.07 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The business has a 50-day moving average of $21.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $20.81. Simmons First National has a 12 month low of $17.00 and a 12 month high of $23.91.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 16th. The bank reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.03). Simmons First National had a negative net margin of 24.64% and a positive return on equity of 8.32%. The firm had revenue of $248.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $250.98 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.44 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Simmons First National will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SFNC. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Simmons First National by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,471,523 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $310,488,000 after purchasing an additional 51,914 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Simmons First National by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,569,943 shares of the bank’s stock worth $144,223,000 after buying an additional 389,634 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Simmons First National by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,814,476 shares of the bank’s stock worth $128,453,000 after buying an additional 70,486 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Simmons First National by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,508,330 shares of the bank’s stock worth $86,425,000 after buying an additional 91,596 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Simmons First National by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,558,574 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $67,090,000 after buying an additional 53,994 shares during the last quarter. 27.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Simmons First National Company Profile

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.