Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) Stock Crosses Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC)’s stock price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $20.02 and traded as high as $21.87. Simmons First National shares last traded at $21.58, with a volume of 1,160,939 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SFNC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. 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 issued a $21.00 target price on shares of Simmons First National in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Stephens upped their price target on shares of Simmons First National from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target 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. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Simmons First National from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Two investment 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, Simmons First National has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.00.

Simmons First National Trading Up 0.2%

The business has a 50 day moving average price of $20.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The company has a market capitalization of $3.13 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.43 and a beta of 0.91.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The bank reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47. Simmons First National had a positive return on equity of 7.81% and a negative net margin of 25.44%.The business had revenue of $241.37 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $243.02 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.26 EPS. Simmons First National’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Simmons First National Corporation will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Simmons First National Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.215 per share. This represents a $0.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Simmons First National’s dividend payout ratio is presently -33.59%.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Simmons First National

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in Simmons First National by 52.0% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 146,633 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,811,000 after acquiring an additional 50,145 shares during the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Simmons First National in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,810,000. Ghisallo Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Simmons First National in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $4,313,000. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Simmons First National in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $5,751,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,419,609 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $314,764,000 after buying an additional 1,763,161 shares during 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.