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

Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $22.75.

SFNC has been the subject of several research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Simmons First National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Simmons First National from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Simmons First National from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Simmons First National from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Simmons First National in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th.

Insider Transactions at Simmons First National

In other news, Director Russell William Teubner bought 9,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $18.62 per share, for a total transaction of $171,304.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 53,220 shares in the company, valued at approximately $990,956.40. This trade represents a 20.90% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Steven A. Cosse bought 13,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $18.50 per share, with a total value of $249,750.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 104,120 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,926,220. This trade represents a 14.90% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders acquired 100,755 shares of company stock worth $1,865,332. Insiders own 1.91% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Simmons First National

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SFNC. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its holdings in Simmons First National by 119.9% in the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 3,483,147 shares of the bank’s stock worth $71,509,000 after acquiring an additional 1,899,407 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Simmons First National by 1,179.6% in the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 969,027 shares of the bank’s stock worth $19,894,000 after acquiring an additional 893,298 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Simmons First National by 140.6% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,518,806 shares of the bank’s stock worth $31,181,000 after acquiring an additional 887,603 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Simmons First National in the 1st quarter worth $6,065,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its holdings in Simmons First National by 41.7% in the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 922,284 shares of the bank’s stock worth $17,487,000 after acquiring an additional 271,257 shares in the last quarter. 27.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Simmons First National Stock Up 2.6%

SFNC stock opened at $18.93 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Simmons First National has a 52 week low of $17.20 and a 52 week high of $25.95. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $19.92 and a 200 day moving average of $19.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.74 billion, a PE ratio of 14.91 and a beta of 0.94.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.04. Simmons First National had a net margin of 11.19% and a return on equity of 5.23%. The business had revenue of $214.18 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $217.21 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.33 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Simmons First National will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Simmons First National Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th were paid a $0.2125 dividend. This represents a $0.85 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. Simmons First National’s payout ratio is currently 66.93%.

About Simmons First National

Simmons First National Corporation operates as the holding company for Simmons Bank that provides banking and other financial products and services to individuals and businesses. The company offers checking, savings, and time deposits; consumer, real estate, and commercial loans; agricultural finance, equipment, and small business administration lending; trust and fiduciary services; credit cards; investment management products; treasury management; insurance products; and securities and investment services.