Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) Reaches New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $22.18 and last traded at $22.0450, with a volume of 203726 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $21.60.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SFNC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Zacks Research lowered Simmons First National from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. 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 report on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings raised Simmons First National from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $21.00 target price on shares of Simmons First National in a report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Simmons First National from $23.00 to $21.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research 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 given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Simmons First National has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.00.

Simmons First National Trading Up 1.3%

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.17 billion, a PE ratio of -8.53 and a beta of 0.91. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $20.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.07. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The bank reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.47. Simmons First National had a positive return on equity of 7.81% and a negative net margin of 25.44%.The firm had revenue of $241.37 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $243.02 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.26 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Simmons First National Corporation will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Simmons First National Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.215 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $0.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Simmons First National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -33.59%.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Simmons First National

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in Simmons First National in the 3rd quarter worth about $129,282,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Simmons First National by 12.0% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,419,609 shares of the bank’s stock worth $314,764,000 after acquiring an additional 1,763,161 shares in the last quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. lifted its position in shares of Simmons First National by 325.7% during the fourth quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 1,143,055 shares of the bank’s stock worth $21,547,000 after acquiring an additional 874,513 shares in the last quarter. Leeward Investments LLC MA purchased a new stake in shares of Simmons First National during the first quarter worth $15,744,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Simmons First National by 97.5% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,469,594 shares of the bank’s stock worth $27,702,000 after acquiring an additional 725,489 shares in the last quarter. 27.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.