Brokerages Set Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC) Target Price at $24.50

Shares of Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have assigned a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $24.50.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on SFNC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Simmons First National from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Simmons First National in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $23.00 price target on shares of Simmons First National in a report on Friday, July 17th. National Bank Financial set a $25.00 price objective on Simmons First National in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Stephens boosted 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.

Simmons First National Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SFNC opened at $23.84 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.45 billion, a PE ratio of -9.42 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $22.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.93. Simmons First National has a fifty-two week low of $17.00 and a fifty-two week high of $24.32.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The bank reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 last year, the company posted $0.44 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Simmons First National will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Simmons First National Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a dividend of $0.215 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $0.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. Simmons First National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -33.99%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Simmons First National

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in Simmons First National by 35.6% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,884 shares of the bank’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 495 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in Simmons First National by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 19,079 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $360,000 after purchasing an additional 495 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its stake in Simmons First National by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 33,075 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $623,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 21,065 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $397,000 after purchasing an additional 513 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 31.9% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,339 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 566 shares during the period. 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.