Morgan Stanley Raises Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) Price Target to $24.00

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) had its target price raised by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $23.00 to $24.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the bank’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 5.94% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. National Bank Financial set a $24.00 target price on Simmons First National in a report on Monday. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $21.00 price target on shares of Simmons First National in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Stephens increased their price objective on Simmons First National from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings raised Simmons First National from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Simmons First National from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.00.

Simmons First National Stock Performance

SFNC stock traded down $0.28 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $22.66. 444,964 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,268,143. Simmons First National has a twelve month low of $17.00 and a twelve month high of $23.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.85 and a beta of 0.91. 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 simple moving average of $21.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.44.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 16th. The bank reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.47. The business had revenue of $241.37 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $243.02 million. Simmons First National had a negative net margin of 25.44% and a positive return on equity of 7.81%. Simmons First National’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.26 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Simmons First National will post 2.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Simmons First National

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 137.6% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 45,329 shares of the bank’s stock worth $882,000 after acquiring an additional 26,250 shares in the last quarter. Carlson Capital L.P. lifted its position in shares of Simmons First National by 191.2% in the first quarter. Carlson Capital L.P. now owns 78,624 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,529,000 after purchasing an additional 51,624 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Simmons First National by 24.7% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 624,613 shares of the bank’s stock worth $12,149,000 after purchasing an additional 123,732 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its holdings in Simmons First National by 16.3% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 23,866 shares of the bank’s stock worth $464,000 after purchasing an additional 3,348 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 31.9% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,339 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 566 shares in the last quarter. 27.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.