Zacks Research Upgrades Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) to Strong-Buy

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Zacks reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on SFNC. Robert W. Baird set a $25.00 price target on shares of Simmons First National in a report on Monday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Simmons First National in a research report on Monday. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Simmons First National from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Simmons First National from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $26.00 to $27.50 in a research note on Friday, September 4th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $25.00 target price on shares of Simmons First National in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Simmons First National presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $25.69.

Simmons First National Trading Up 2.5%

NASDAQ SFNC opened at $22.77 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.72 and a beta of 0.92. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $22.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. Simmons First National has a one year low of $17.00 and a one year high of $24.32.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 15th. The bank reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $251.17 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $254.03 million. Simmons First National had a net margin of 18.38% and a return on equity of 8.73%. Simmons First National’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.46 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Simmons First National will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Leeward Investments LLC MA purchased a new stake in Simmons First National in the first quarter valued at about $15,744,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 3.9% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,591,542 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $149,298,000 after acquiring an additional 245,024 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 151.6% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 405,336 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,884,000 after acquiring an additional 244,220 shares in the last quarter. 1492 Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Simmons First National during the first quarter valued at about $3,067,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Simmons First National by 33.5% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 625,391 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $12,164,000 after purchasing an additional 157,061 shares during the last quarter. 27.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Simmons First National Company Profile

Simmons First National Corporation is a financial holding company headquartered in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Its principal subsidiary, Simmons Bank, provides banking and financial services to individuals, families, businesses and institutions.

The bank offers deposit accounts, consumer and commercial lending, residential and commercial real estate financing, treasury and cash-management services, credit cards, and online and mobile banking. It also provides wealth management, trust, investment and insurance services through specialized business lines.

Founded in 1903, Simmons has expanded from its Arkansas roots into a regional banking franchise serving customers through branches and financial centers across Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas.