Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC) Stock Now Rated “Moderate Buy” by Sell-Side Brokerages

Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $25.50.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $23.00 target price on shares of Simmons First National in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Simmons First National in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. National Bank Financial set a $26.00 price objective on Simmons First National in a research note on Friday, September 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Simmons First National from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $25.00 to $26.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded Simmons First National from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $24.00 to $26.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Simmons First National

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in Simmons First National by 17,016.7% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 125,294 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,437,000 after purchasing an additional 124,562 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 24.7% during the 1st 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 period. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of Simmons First National by 213.2% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 206,793 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,022,000 after buying an additional 140,769 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Simmons First National by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,558,574 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $67,090,000 after buying an additional 53,994 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 151.6% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 405,336 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,884,000 after buying an additional 244,220 shares during the period. 27.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Simmons First National Trading Up 0.7%

NASDAQ:SFNC opened at $23.06 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $23.19 and its 200-day moving average is $21.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Simmons First National has a 12 month low of $17.00 and a 12 month high of $24.32. The firm has a market cap of $3.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.11 and a beta of 0.89.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 16th. The bank reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.03). Simmons First National had a positive return on equity of 8.32% and a negative net margin of 24.64%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.44 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Simmons First National will post 2.06 EPS for the current year.

Simmons First National Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.2150 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $0.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Simmons First National’s payout ratio is -33.99%.

Simmons First National Company Profile

Simmons First National Corporation is a financial holding company headquartered in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Through its principal subsidiary, Simmons Bank, the company provides banking and financial services to individuals, businesses, government entities and nonprofit organizations.

Simmons Bank offers deposit accounts, consumer and commercial lending, mortgages, credit cards, treasury and cash-management services, and other banking products. Its services also include wealth management, trust and investment services, insurance-related solutions and specialized financial services for businesses and agricultural customers.

Founded in 1903, the company has expanded from its original Arkansas banking operations through organic growth and acquisitions.