Vanguard Group Inc. Has $310.49 Million Stock Holdings in Simmons First National Corporation $SFNC

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,471,523 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 51,914 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.11% of Simmons First National worth $310,488,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 197.5% in the 2nd 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 last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 42.5% in the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,175 shares of the bank’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 649 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 32.0% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,658 shares of the bank’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 644 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 68.4% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 5,938 shares of the bank’s stock worth $114,000 after purchasing an additional 2,412 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vinva Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Simmons First National in the 3rd quarter worth about $134,000. Institutional investors own 27.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on SFNC shares. Stephens upped their target price on shares of Simmons First National from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $21.00 target price on shares of Simmons First National in a report on Friday, April 17th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Simmons First National from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Simmons First National from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $23.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, National Bank Financial set a $21.00 price objective on shares of Simmons First National in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.00.

Simmons First National Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:SFNC opened at $21.36 on Friday. Simmons First National Corporation has a 12 month low of $17.00 and a 12 month high of $22.17. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $20.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The firm has a market cap of $3.10 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.34 and a beta of 0.92.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 16th. The bank reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47. Simmons First National had a negative net margin of 25.44% and a positive return on equity of 7.81%. The firm had revenue of $241.37 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $243.02 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.26 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Simmons First National Corporation will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Simmons First National declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 17th that allows the company to repurchase $175.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the bank to buy up to 5.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.