Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) Hits New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $22.74 and last traded at $22.7980, with a volume of 143150 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.48.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SFNC. Zacks Research downgraded Simmons First National from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $21.00 price objective on shares of Simmons First National in a report on Friday, April 17th. Weiss Ratings raised Simmons First National from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Stephens upped their target price 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, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Simmons First National from $23.00 to $21.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.00.

Simmons First National Stock Performance

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $21.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.33 billion, a PE ratio of -8.97 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The bank reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47. The firm had revenue of $241.37 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $243.02 million. Simmons First National had a positive return on equity of 7.81% and a negative net margin of 25.44%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.26 EPS. Research analysts expect that Simmons First National Corporation will post 2.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Simmons First National Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a $0.215 dividend. This represents a $0.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Simmons First National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -33.59%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Simmons First National

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its position 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 valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 495 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in Simmons First National by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 19,079 shares of the bank’s stock worth $360,000 after acquiring an additional 495 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its position 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 worth $623,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 21,065 shares of the bank’s stock worth $397,000 after acquiring an additional 513 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Simmons First National by 31.9% during 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 during the period. Institutional investors own 27.58% of the company’s stock.

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.