Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have assigned a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $22.00.

SFNC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Simmons First National from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $23.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Simmons First National from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Simmons First National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of Simmons First National from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. 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.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Simmons First National

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 197.5% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,663 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,104 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in Simmons First National by 35.6% during the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,884 shares of the bank’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 495 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in Simmons First National by 42.5% during the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,175 shares of the bank’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 649 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its stake in Simmons First National by 32.0% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,658 shares of the bank’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 644 shares during the period. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP purchased a new stake in Simmons First National during the 4th quarter worth approximately $66,000. 27.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Simmons First National Price Performance

Shares of SFNC stock opened at $21.23 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $20.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.47. Simmons First National has a 12 month low of $17.00 and a 12 month high of $22.17. The company has a market capitalization of $3.08 billion, a PE ratio of -8.29 and a beta of 0.92.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last issued its 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 the consensus estimate of $243.02 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.26 earnings per share. Simmons First National’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Simmons First National will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Simmons First National announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $175.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the bank to repurchase up to 5.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.