Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Simmons First National has a “Moderate Buy” consensus from nine analysts, with four buy ratings, one strong buy, three holds and one sell. The average 12-month price target is $25.50 versus a recent share price of $23.06.
• Institutional investors own 27.58% of the company, with Wellington Management, Geode Capital and Basswood Capital among firms that recently increased their positions.
• The bank reported quarterly earnings of $0.50 per share, below the $0.53 analyst consensus, although revenue rose 16.1% year over year. It also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.215 per share, representing a 3.7% annualized yield.

Shares of Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the nine ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have assigned a hold recommendation, four have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $25.50.

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Simmons First National in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Piper Sandler raised Simmons First National from an "underweight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $26.00 to $27.50 in a research note on Friday, September 4th. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of Simmons First National in a report on Friday, July 17th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $23.00 price objective on shares of Simmons First National in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Simmons First National from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $25.00 to $26.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 10th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Simmons First National

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

Simmons First National Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:SFNC opened at $23.06 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $23.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.33 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.11 and a beta of 0.89. Simmons First National has a 12-month low of $17.00 and a 12-month high of $24.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The bank reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.03). Simmons First National had a positive return on equity of 8.32% and a negative net margin of 24.64%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.44 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Simmons First National will post 2.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Simmons First National Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.2150 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $0.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Simmons First National's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -33.99%.

Simmons First National Company Profile

Simmons First National Corporation is a financial holding company headquartered in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Through its principal subsidiary, Simmons Bank, the company provides banking and financial services to individuals, businesses, government entities and nonprofit organizations.

Simmons Bank offers deposit accounts, consumer and commercial lending, mortgages, credit cards, treasury and cash-management services, and other banking products. Its services also include wealth management, trust and investment services, insurance-related solutions and specialized financial services for businesses and agricultural customers.

Founded in 1903, the company has expanded from its original Arkansas banking operations through organic growth and acquisitions.

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