Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) Sets New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday after Stephens raised their price target on the stock from $24.00 to $25.00. Stephens currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Simmons First National traded as high as $22.17 and last traded at $21.9150, with a volume of 1241648 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $21.52.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $21.00 price objective on shares of Simmons First National in a research report on Friday. 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. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Simmons First National from $23.00 to $21.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Simmons First National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Simmons First National in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.86.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 1,104 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Simmons First National by 35.6% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,884 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 495 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in Simmons First National by 42.5% in the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,175 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 649 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in Simmons First National by 32.0% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,658 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 644 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP purchased a new position in Simmons First National in the 4th quarter valued at about $66,000. 27.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Simmons First National Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $3.14 billion, a PE ratio of -8.45 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.33.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 16th. The bank reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, meeting 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $243.02 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.26 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Simmons First National Corporation will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Simmons First National Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were given a dividend of $0.215 per share. This represents a $0.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. This is a positive change from Simmons First National’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. Simmons First National’s dividend payout ratio is presently -33.59%.

Simmons First National declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 17th that allows the company to buyback $175.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the bank to purchase up to 5.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is 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.