Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) Reaches New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $23.92 and last traded at $23.9260, with a volume of 553049 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.59.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SFNC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Simmons First National in a research note on Friday, July 17th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $23.00 price target on shares of Simmons First National in a report on Friday, July 17th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Simmons First National in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley restated a “positive” rating on shares of Simmons First National in a report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Stephens lifted their price objective on Simmons First National from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $24.50.

Simmons First National Stock Down 0.2%

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 stock has a market cap of $3.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.51 and a beta of 0.91. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $22.52 and its 200 day moving average is $21.17.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The bank reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.03). The company 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 24.64% and a positive return on equity of 8.32%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.44 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Simmons First National Corporation will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Simmons First National Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders 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 3.6%. Simmons First National’s dividend payout ratio is currently -33.99%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Simmons First National

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in Simmons First National by 27.2% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 88,632 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,820,000 after purchasing an additional 18,933 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Simmons First National by 271.3% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 158,856 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,261,000 after buying an additional 116,072 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in Simmons First National by 4.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 73,861 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,516,000 after buying an additional 3,221 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in Simmons First National by 3,624.6% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 13,036 shares of the bank’s stock worth $268,000 after buying an additional 12,686 shares during the period. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in Simmons First National by 1,288.2% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 18,046 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $411,000 after purchasing an additional 16,746 shares in the last quarter. 27.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.