Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation, two have issued a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $22.3333.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on SFNC shares. Piper Sandler raised shares of Simmons First National from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Simmons First National from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Wall Street Zen raised Simmons First National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Simmons First National in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Simmons First National in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. They set a “positive” rating and a $22.00 price objective on the stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Simmons First National

In related news, Director Steven A. Cosse purchased 8,603 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 30th. The shares were bought at an average price of $17.44 per share, for a total transaction of $150,036.32. Following the acquisition, the director owned 113,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,982,090.88. This represents a 8.19% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP David W. Garner purchased 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 22nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $17.66 per share, for a total transaction of $52,980.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president directly owned 72,345 shares in the company, valued at $1,277,612.70. The trade was a 4.33% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders own 1.44% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. 1900 Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Simmons First National by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC now owns 47,560 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $902,000 after purchasing an additional 497 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 32.0% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,658 shares of the bank’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 644 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 42.5% during the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,175 shares of the bank’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 649 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 0.7% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 115,982 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,199,000 after buying an additional 787 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Simmons First National by 24.3% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,260 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $82,000 after acquiring an additional 834 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 27.58% of the company’s stock.

Simmons First National Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SFNC opened at $19.24 on Friday. Simmons First National has a 12-month low of $17.00 and a 12-month high of $23.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.57 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $18.80 and a 200 day moving average of $19.24.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The bank reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.47 by ($0.01). Simmons First National had a positive return on equity of 5.84% and a negative net margin of 29.70%.The business had revenue of $232.54 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $103.26 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.37 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Simmons First National will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Simmons First National Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were paid a $0.2125 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $0.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.4%. Simmons First National’s payout ratio is presently -29.01%.

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.