Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) Reaches New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $22.18 and last traded at $22.0450, with a volume of 203726 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $21.60.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SFNC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Stephens boosted their price target on Simmons First National from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $21.00 price target on shares of Simmons First National in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Weiss Ratings raised Simmons First National from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Simmons First National from $23.00 to $21.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Simmons First National from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.00.

Simmons First National Price Performance

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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $20.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.07. The company has a market capitalization of $3.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.53 and a beta of 0.91.

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

Simmons First National Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.215 per share. This represents a $0.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Simmons First National’s dividend payout ratio is presently -33.59%.

Simmons First National declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, February 17th that permits the company to buyback $175.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the bank to purchase up to 5.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Simmons First National

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SFNC. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in shares of Simmons First National during the third quarter worth approximately $129,282,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Simmons First National by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,419,609 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $314,764,000 after buying an additional 1,763,161 shares during the last quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. raised its position in Simmons First National by 325.7% in the 4th quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 1,143,055 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $21,547,000 after buying an additional 874,513 shares during the last quarter. Leeward Investments LLC MA purchased a new stake in Simmons First National in the 1st quarter valued at $15,744,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in Simmons First National by 97.5% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,469,594 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $27,702,000 after buying an additional 725,489 shares during the last quarter. 27.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.