Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) Share Price Crosses Above 200-Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $21.97 and traded as high as $23.10. Simmons First National shares last traded at $22.90, with a volume of 2,363,135 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on SFNC. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Simmons First National from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $24.00 to $26.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Simmons First National in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. National Bank Financial set a $26.00 price target on shares of Simmons First National in a report on Friday, September 4th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of Simmons First National in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Simmons First National from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $25.00 to $26.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Simmons First National presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $25.50.

Simmons First National Trading Up 0.7%

The firm has a market cap of $3.31 billion, a PE ratio of -9.05 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The bank reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.03). Simmons First National had a negative net margin of 24.64% and a positive return on equity of 8.32%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.44 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Simmons First National Corporation will post 2.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Simmons First National Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th were given a dividend of $0.2150 per share. This represents a $0.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 15th. Simmons First National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -33.99%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of SFNC. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Simmons First National by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,591,542 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $149,298,000 after acquiring an additional 245,024 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,558,574 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $67,090,000 after purchasing an additional 53,994 shares in the last quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. raised its holdings in Simmons First National by 325.7% in the 4th quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 1,143,055 shares of the bank’s stock worth $21,547,000 after purchasing an additional 874,513 shares during the period. Leeward Investments LLC MA acquired a new position in Simmons First National in the 1st quarter worth about $15,744,000. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Simmons First National by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 771,712 shares of the bank’s stock worth $14,547,000 after purchasing an additional 45,789 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.58% of the company’s stock.

About Simmons First National

Simmons First National Corporation is a financial services company headquartered in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and the parent company of Simmons Bank. Founded in 1903, the company has grown from a community bank into a regional banking organization serving businesses, individuals and institutions.

Simmons Bank provides a range of banking services, including checking and savings accounts, commercial and consumer lending, residential mortgage lending, credit cards and treasury management. The bank also offers wealth management, trust, investment and brokerage services to individuals, businesses and nonprofit organizations.

Through its branch network and digital banking platforms, Simmons Bank serves customers in Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas.