Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks reports.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $25.00 target price on shares of Simmons First National in a research report on Monday. National Bank Financial set a $26.00 target price on shares of Simmons First National in a research note on Friday, September 4th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Simmons First National in a research note on Monday. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of Simmons First National in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Simmons First National from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $25.69.

Simmons First National Stock Performance

Shares of SFNC stock opened at $22.77 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.72 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $22.87 and a 200 day moving average of $22.27. Simmons First National has a 52 week low of $17.00 and a 52 week high of $24.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

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

Simmons First National Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were paid a $0.2150 dividend. This represents a $0.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 15th. Simmons First National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.04%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Simmons First National

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 124,562 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 24.7% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 624,613 shares of the bank’s stock worth $12,149,000 after acquiring an additional 123,732 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 213.2% in the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 206,793 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,022,000 after acquiring an additional 140,769 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 151.6% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 405,336 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,884,000 after acquiring an additional 244,220 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 33.5% in 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 in the last quarter. 27.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Simmons First National

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.