Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) Upgraded at Baird R W

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) was upgraded by Baird R W from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Simmons First National from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Simmons First National in a report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Simmons First National from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Zacks Research lowered Simmons First National from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Simmons First National from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.33.

Simmons First National Stock Performance

SFNC stock opened at $17.54 on Wednesday. Simmons First National has a 1-year low of $17.00 and a 1-year high of $25.52. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $18.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.25. The company has a market capitalization of $2.54 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.99 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The bank reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by ($0.01). Simmons First National had a negative net margin of 29.70% and a positive return on equity of 5.84%. The business had revenue of $232.54 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $103.26 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.37 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Simmons First National will post 1.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Simmons First National

In related 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, for a total transaction of $150,036.32. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 113,652 shares in the company, valued at $1,982,090.88. The trade was a 8.19% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP David W. Garner bought 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 22nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $17.66 per share, with a total value of $52,980.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president directly owned 72,345 shares in the company, valued at $1,277,612.70. This represents a 4.33% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 1.44% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Simmons First National in the 1st quarter valued at $318,000. Ieq Capital LLC grew its position in Simmons First National by 156.9% during the first quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 42,193 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $866,000 after buying an additional 25,771 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its position in 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 valued at $1,420,000 after buying an additional 5,298 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Simmons First National by 234.7% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 153,661 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,155,000 after buying an additional 107,752 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 69.7% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 92,262 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,894,000 after acquiring an additional 37,881 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.58% of the company’s stock.

Simmons First National Company Profile

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.