Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $25.50.

A number of analysts have commented on SFNC shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Simmons First National in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of Simmons First National in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Simmons First National from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $25.00 to $26.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Simmons First National from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $24.00 to $26.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $23.00 target price on shares of Simmons First National in a research report on Friday, July 17th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Simmons First National

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SFNC. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in Simmons First National by 17,016.7% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 125,294 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,437,000 after purchasing an additional 124,562 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 24.7% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 624,613 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $12,149,000 after buying an additional 123,732 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 213.2% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 206,793 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,022,000 after buying an additional 140,769 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Simmons First National by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,558,574 shares of the bank’s stock worth $67,090,000 after buying an additional 53,994 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its position 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 buying an additional 244,220 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.58% of the company’s stock.

Simmons First National Stock Performance

Shares of SFNC opened at $22.52 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $21.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a market capitalization of $3.25 billion, a PE ratio of -8.90 and a beta of 0.89. Simmons First National has a 52-week low of $17.00 and a 52-week high of $24.32.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 16th. The bank reported $0.50 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 in the previous year, the company posted $0.44 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Simmons First National will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Simmons First National Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. Simmons First National’s payout ratio is -33.99%.

About Simmons First National

Simmons First National Corporation is a financial holding company headquartered in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Through its principal subsidiary, Simmons Bank, the company provides banking and financial services to individuals, businesses, government entities and nonprofit organizations.

Simmons Bank offers deposit accounts, consumer and commercial lending, mortgages, credit cards, treasury and cash-management services, and other banking products. Its services also include wealth management, trust and investment services, insurance-related solutions and specialized financial services for businesses and agricultural customers.

Founded in 1903, the company has expanded from its original Arkansas banking operations through organic growth and acquisitions.