Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) Given New $24.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) had its price target lifted by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $23.00 to $24.00 in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the bank’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 5.94% from the company’s current price.

SFNC has been the subject of several other reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Simmons First National from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Stephens boosted their target price on shares of Simmons First National from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. National Bank Financial set a $24.00 price target on Simmons First National in a report on Monday. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $21.00 price objective on shares of Simmons First National in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Simmons First National from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.00.

Simmons First National Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SFNC traded down $0.28 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $22.66. 444,964 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,268,143. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $21.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.85 and a beta of 0.91. Simmons First National has a fifty-two week low of $17.00 and a fifty-two week high of $23.12. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The bank reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.47. The firm had revenue of $241.37 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $243.02 million. Simmons First National had a negative net margin of 25.44% and a positive return on equity of 7.81%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.26 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Simmons First National will post 2.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Simmons First National

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 35.6% in 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 in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 2.7% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 1.5% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its position in Simmons First National by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 21,065 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $397,000 after acquiring an additional 513 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Simmons First National by 31.9% in 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.58% of the company’s stock.

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.