Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Monday.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Simmons First National from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $23.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday. Zacks Research lowered shares of Simmons First National from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. National Bankshares set a $21.00 price objective on Simmons First National in a research note on Wednesday. Piper Sandler upgraded Simmons First National from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Simmons First National in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.43.

Simmons First National Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SFNC opened at $20.08 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.91 billion, a PE ratio of -7.25 and a beta of 0.89. Simmons First National has a 52-week low of $17.00 and a 52-week high of $23.44.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 20th. The bank reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $249.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $238.68 million. Simmons First National had a positive return on equity of 6.73% and a negative net margin of 27.83%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.39 EPS. Analysts forecast that Simmons First National will post 1.66 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Simmons First National

In other news, Director Steven A. Cosse acquired 8,603 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 30th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $17.44 per share, with a total value of $150,036.32. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 113,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,982,090.88. This represents a 8.19% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.91% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Simmons First National

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 705.8% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 122,145 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,316,000 after buying an additional 106,986 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 7.6% during the second quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 74,955 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,420,000 after purchasing an additional 5,298 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in Simmons First National in the second quarter valued at approximately $518,000. Savant Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Simmons First National in the second quarter valued at approximately $279,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its holdings in Simmons First National by 12.4% in the 2nd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 136,519 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,588,000 after buying an additional 15,053 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.58% of the company’s stock.

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.