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

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Saturday.

A number of other research firms have also commented on SFNC. Piper Sandler raised Simmons First National from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. National Bankshares set a $22.00 target price on Simmons First National in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Baird R W 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 reduced their price objective on shares of Simmons First National from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Simmons First National from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Simmons First National presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.33.

Simmons First National Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SFNC opened at $19.30 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.79 billion, a PE ratio of -6.59 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $18.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.24. Simmons First National has a twelve month low of $17.00 and a twelve month high of $23.44.

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

Simmons First National Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Steven A. Cosse bought 8,603 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 30th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $17.44 per share, for a total transaction of $150,036.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 113,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,982,090.88. The trade was a 8.19% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David W. Garner purchased 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 72,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,277,612.70. This represents a 4.33% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 1.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Simmons First National

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in Simmons First National by 27.2% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 88,632 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,820,000 after buying an additional 18,933 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 271.3% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 158,856 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,261,000 after purchasing an additional 116,072 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 73,861 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,516,000 after purchasing an additional 3,221 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in Simmons First National by 3,624.6% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 13,036 shares of the bank’s stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 12,686 shares during the period. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in Simmons First National by 1,288.2% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 18,046 shares of the bank’s stock worth $411,000 after purchasing an additional 16,746 shares during the last quarter. 27.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.