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

Shares of Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $23.00.

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a “positive” rating on shares of Simmons First National in a report on Monday, June 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Simmons First National from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $21.00 price objective on shares of Simmons First National in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Stephens increased their price target on 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 lowered shares of Simmons First National from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th.

Simmons First National Trading Up 0.6%

SFNC traded up $0.14 on Friday, reaching $22.86. 925,390 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,370,473. The company’s 50 day moving average is $21.81 and its 200-day moving average is $20.67. The company has a market cap of $3.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.93 and a beta of 0.90. Simmons First National has a twelve month low of $17.00 and a twelve month high of $23.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The bank reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.47. The company had revenue of $241.37 million during 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 was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.26 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Simmons First National will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Simmons First National Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a $0.215 dividend. This represents a $0.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. Simmons First National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -33.59%.

Institutional Trading of Simmons First National

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Ghisallo Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Simmons First National during the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,313,000. Azora Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Simmons First National in the third quarter worth about $13,177,000. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Simmons First National in the third quarter worth about $5,751,000. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC bought a new position in shares of Simmons First National in the third quarter valued at approximately $5,529,000. Finally, Naviter Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Simmons First National by 238.5% in the fourth quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC now owns 39,461 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $752,000 after acquiring an additional 27,803 shares during the period. 27.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.