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

Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $24.50.

A number of research firms recently commented on SFNC. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $23.00 price objective on shares of Simmons First National in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Simmons First National in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Simmons First National from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Morgan Stanley reissued a “positive” rating on shares of Simmons First National in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $25.00 target price on shares of Simmons First National in a research note on Friday, July 17th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Simmons First National

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in Simmons First National by 156.0% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,518 shares of the bank’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 925 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,104 shares in the last quarter. Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in shares of Simmons First National during the 2nd quarter valued at about $41,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its position in shares of Simmons First National by 32.0% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,658 shares of the bank’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 644 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.58% of the company’s stock.

Simmons First National Stock Performance

Shares of Simmons First National stock opened at $22.69 on Monday. Simmons First National has a 1 year low of $17.00 and a 1 year high of $24.32. 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 price of $23.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.54. The company has a market capitalization of $3.28 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.97 and a beta of 0.91.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The bank reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.44 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Simmons First National will post 2.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Simmons First National Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a $0.215 dividend. This represents a $0.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. Simmons First National’s payout ratio is currently -33.99%.

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.