Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) was upgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Monday, Zacks reports.

SFNC has been the topic of several other reports. Robert W. Baird set a $25.00 price target on shares of Simmons First National in a research report on Monday. DA Davidson increased their target price on Simmons First National from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Simmons First National in a research report on Monday. Piper Sandler raised Simmons First National from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $26.00 to $27.50 in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Simmons First National from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Simmons First National currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $25.69.

Simmons First National Trading Up 2.5%

Shares of SFNC stock opened at $22.77 on Monday. Simmons First National has a 1 year low of $17.00 and a 1 year high of $24.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.29 billion, a PE ratio of 10.84 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $22.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 15th. The bank reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $251.17 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $254.03 million. Simmons First National had a return on equity of 8.73% and a net margin of 18.38%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.46 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Simmons First National will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Simmons First National

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,591,542 shares of the bank’s stock worth $149,298,000 after purchasing an additional 245,024 shares in the last quarter. Leeward Investments LLC MA bought a new stake in shares of Simmons First National in the 1st quarter worth about $15,744,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Simmons First National by 2.0% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 703,543 shares of the bank’s stock worth $13,684,000 after buying an additional 13,852 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Simmons First National by 33.5% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 625,391 shares of the bank’s stock worth $12,164,000 after acquiring an additional 157,061 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 24.7% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 624,613 shares of the bank’s stock worth $12,149,000 after purchasing an additional 123,732 shares during 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 is a financial holding company headquartered in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Its principal subsidiary, Simmons Bank, provides banking and financial services to individuals, families, businesses and institutions.

The bank offers deposit accounts, consumer and commercial lending, residential and commercial real estate financing, treasury and cash-management services, credit cards, and online and mobile banking. It also provides wealth management, trust, investment and insurance services through specialized business lines.

Founded in 1903, Simmons has expanded from its Arkansas roots into a regional banking franchise serving customers through branches and financial centers across Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas.