Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Should You Buy?

Shares of Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC) saw unusually-high trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 1,123,580 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 6% from the previous session’s volume of 1,200,044 shares.The stock last traded at $22.0050 and had previously closed at $21.71.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on SFNC shares. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $21.00 price objective on shares of Simmons First National in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Zacks Research lowered Simmons First National from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Weiss Ratings raised Simmons First National from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Simmons First National from $23.00 to $21.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Stephens upped their price objective 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.00.

Simmons First National Trading Up 1.2%

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.19 billion, a PE ratio of -8.60 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $241.37 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $243.02 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.26 EPS. Simmons First National’s revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Simmons First National Corporation will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Simmons First National Announces Dividend

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

Simmons First National announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, February 17th that permits the company to repurchase $175.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the bank to purchase up to 5.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Simmons First National

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SFNC. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in Simmons First National in the 3rd quarter valued at about $129,282,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Simmons First National by 12.0% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,419,609 shares of the bank’s stock worth $314,764,000 after purchasing an additional 1,763,161 shares during the period. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. increased its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 325.7% in the fourth quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 1,143,055 shares of the bank’s stock worth $21,547,000 after purchasing an additional 874,513 shares in the last quarter. Leeward Investments LLC MA purchased a new position in shares of Simmons First National in the first quarter worth about $15,744,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Simmons First National by 97.5% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,469,594 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $27,702,000 after purchasing an additional 725,489 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.58% of the company’s stock.

Simmons First National Company Profile

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.