Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Shares of Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $23.50 and last traded at $22.8070, with a volume of 464 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $22.72.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SFNC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Zacks Research cut Simmons First National from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Stephens boosted their target price 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. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $21.00 target price on shares of Simmons First National in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a “positive” rating on shares of Simmons First National in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Simmons First National from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.00.

Simmons First National Stock Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average of $21.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $20.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.31 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.93 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The bank reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47. The company had revenue of $241.37 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $243.02 million. Simmons First National had a positive return on equity of 7.81% and a negative net margin of 25.44%.Simmons First National’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.26 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Simmons First National Corporation will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Simmons First National Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a dividend of $0.215 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $0.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. Simmons First National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -33.59%.

Institutional Trading of Simmons First National

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Simmons First National by 35.6% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,884 shares of the bank’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 495 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in Simmons First National by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 19,079 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $360,000 after acquiring an additional 495 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its stake in Simmons First National by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 33,075 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $623,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its position in Simmons First National by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 21,065 shares of the bank’s stock worth $397,000 after acquiring an additional 513 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Simmons First National by 31.9% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,339 shares of the bank’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 566 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 27.58% of the company’s stock.

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.