Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) Stock Crosses Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $20.02 and traded as high as $21.87. Simmons First National shares last traded at $21.58, with a volume of 1,160,939 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Stephens increased 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. Zacks Research downgraded Simmons First National from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $21.00 price target on shares of Simmons First National in a report on Friday, April 17th. Weiss Ratings raised Simmons First National from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Simmons First National from $23.00 to $21.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Two investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.00.

Simmons First National Stock Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $20.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. The company has a market cap of $3.13 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.43 and a beta of 0.91.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The bank reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47. Simmons First National had a negative net margin of 25.44% and a positive return on equity of 7.81%. The company had revenue of $241.37 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $243.02 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.26 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Simmons First National Corporation will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Simmons First National Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a $0.215 dividend. This represents a $0.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Simmons First National’s payout ratio is currently -33.59%.

Simmons First National declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, February 17th that allows the company to repurchase $175.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the bank to reacquire up to 5.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in Simmons First National by 156.0% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,518 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 925 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Simmons First National by 197.5% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,663 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,104 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its position in Simmons First National by 35.6% in the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,884 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 495 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in Simmons First National by 42.5% in the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,175 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 649 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. grew 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 acquiring an additional 644 shares during the last quarter. 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.