Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) Shares Gap Down to $18.81

Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $18.81, but opened at $18.00. Simmons First National shares last traded at $18.35, with a volume of 23,561 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on SFNC shares. Stephens decreased their target price on shares of Simmons First National from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Simmons First National from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. StockNews.com lowered Simmons First National from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Simmons First National from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.00.

Simmons First National Stock Down 2.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.42 and a beta of 0.87. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $18.77 and its 200-day moving average is $17.98.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32. The business had revenue of $195.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $202.35 million. Simmons First National had a net margin of 11.97% and a return on equity of 5.94%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.37 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Simmons First National Co. will post 1.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Simmons First National Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Simmons First National’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.16%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Simmons First National

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Simmons First National in the third quarter worth $985,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 214,262 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,634,000 after buying an additional 1,187 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in shares of Simmons First National by 35.0% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 21,968 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $373,000 after buying an additional 5,697 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio raised its stake in Simmons First National by 110.0% during the third quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 42,200 shares of the bank’s stock worth $715,000 after acquiring an additional 22,100 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Simmons First National by 5.7% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 55,729 shares of the bank’s stock worth $945,000 after acquiring an additional 3,023 shares during the last quarter. 27.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Simmons First National

Simmons First National Corporation operates as the holding company for Simmons Bank that provides banking and other financial products and services to individuals and businesses. The company offers checking, savings, and time deposits; consumer, real estate, and commercial loans; agricultural finance, equipment, and small business administration lending; trust and fiduciary services; credit cards; investment management products; treasury management; insurance products; and securities and investment services.