Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have assigned a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $23.00.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on SFNC shares. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $21.00 target price on shares of Simmons First National in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Stephens lifted their price objective on Simmons First National from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Morgan Stanley reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of Simmons First National in a research note on Monday, June 29th. National Bank Financial set a $24.00 target price on Simmons First National in a report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Simmons First National from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th.

Simmons First National Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of Simmons First National stock opened at $23.25 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.37 billion, a PE ratio of -9.08 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. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $21.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.78. Simmons First National has a 52-week low of $17.00 and a 52-week high of $23.91.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 16th. The bank reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $248.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $250.98 million. Simmons First National had a negative net margin of 25.44% and a positive return on equity of 7.81%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.44 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Simmons First National will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Simmons First National Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a $0.215 dividend. This represents a $0.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. Simmons First National’s dividend payout ratio is -33.59%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 156.0% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,518 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 925 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Simmons First National by 197.5% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,663 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,104 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Simmons First National by 35.6% during the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,884 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 495 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its position in Simmons First National by 32.0% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,658 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 644 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP acquired a new position in Simmons First National in the fourth quarter valued at about $66,000. 27.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.