Brokerages Set Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC) PT at $22.33

Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNCGet Free Report) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eight ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $22.1667.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Simmons First National in a report on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Simmons First National in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. They set a “positive” rating and a $22.00 price target on the stock. Zacks Research lowered Simmons First National from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Simmons First National from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised Simmons First National from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th.

Read Our Latest Research Report on SFNC

Key Stories Impacting Simmons First National

Here are the key news stories impacting Simmons First National this week:

Simmons First National Stock Performance

Shares of Simmons First National stock opened at $21.00 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $18.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.23. The company has a market cap of $3.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.58 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. Simmons First National has a one year low of $17.00 and a one year high of $23.44.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNCGet Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The bank reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $249.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $238.68 million. Simmons First National had a positive return on equity of 6.70% and a negative net margin of 27.83%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.39 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Simmons First National will post 1.66 EPS for the current year.

Simmons First National Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were given a $0.2125 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $0.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. Simmons First National’s dividend payout ratio is presently -29.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Steven A. Cosse purchased 8,603 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 30th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $17.44 per share, for a total transaction of $150,036.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 113,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,982,090.88. The trade was a 8.19% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Simmons First National

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Simmons First National by 12.0% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,419,609 shares of the bank’s stock worth $314,764,000 after purchasing an additional 1,763,161 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 2.3% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,630,535 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $146,279,000 after buying an additional 169,768 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Simmons First National in the 3rd quarter valued at $129,282,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Simmons First National by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,508,330 shares of the bank’s stock worth $86,425,000 after acquiring an additional 91,596 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Simmons First National by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 3,737,214 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $70,858,000 after acquiring an additional 254,067 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.58% of the company’s stock.

About Simmons First National

(Get Free Report)

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.

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Analyst Recommendations for Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC)

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