Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $24.50.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Simmons First National in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley reissued a “positive” rating on shares of Simmons First National in a report on Monday, June 29th. Stephens raised their target price on Simmons First National from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $25.00 target price on shares of Simmons First National in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, National Bank Financial set a $25.00 price target on Simmons First National in a research report on Monday, July 20th.

Institutional Trading of Simmons First National

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Simmons First National by 156.0% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,518 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 925 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings 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 worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,104 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Simmons First National by 35.6% in the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,884 shares of the bank’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 495 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of Simmons First National by 32.0% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,658 shares of the bank’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 644 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP bought a new stake in Simmons First National during the fourth quarter valued at $66,000. Institutional investors own 27.58% of the company’s stock.

Simmons First National Stock Performance

Shares of SFNC stock opened at $23.53 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $22.70 and its 200 day moving average is $21.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.40 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.30 and a beta of 0.91. Simmons First National has a 12 month low of $17.00 and a 12 month high of $24.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). Simmons First National had a negative net margin of 24.64% and a positive return on equity of 8.32%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.44 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Simmons First National will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Simmons First National Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a dividend of $0.215 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $0.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. Simmons First National’s payout ratio is currently -33.99%.

About Simmons First National

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.