Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• "Moderate Buy" consensus from nine analysts with an average 1-year price target of $22.00 (rating split: five holds, two buys, two strong buys).
• Simmons First's most recent quarter reported EPS of $0.47 (meeting estimates) and revenue of $241.4M (just below expectations) while revenue rose 15.2% year-over-year; the company shows a positive ROE (7.81%) but a negative net margin (-25.44%).
• The board raised the quarterly dividend to $0.215 (annualized $0.86, ~4.1% yield) and authorized a $175 million share repurchase plan covering up to about 5.7% of outstanding shares.

Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the nine analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have given a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $22.00.

A number of research firms have recently commented on SFNC. National Bank Financial set a $21.00 target price on Simmons First National in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Wall Street Zen raised Simmons First National from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Weiss Ratings raised Simmons First National from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Friday. DA Davidson reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $21.00 price target on shares of Simmons First National in a report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upgraded Simmons First National from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $23.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, January 22nd.

Simmons First National Stock Performance

SFNC opened at $21.02 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $3.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.21 and a beta of 0.89. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $20.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.40. Simmons First National has a one year low of $17.00 and a one year high of $22.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The bank reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47. The firm had revenue of $241.37 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $243.02 million. Simmons First National had a positive return on equity of 7.81% and a negative net margin of 25.44%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.26 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Simmons First National will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Simmons First National Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a $0.215 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Simmons First National's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Simmons First National's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -33.59%.

Simmons First National announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 17th that permits the company to repurchase $175.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the bank to buy up to 5.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Simmons First National

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 197.5% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,663 shares of the bank's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,104 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 35.6% in the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,884 shares of the bank's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 495 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 42.5% in the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,175 shares of the bank's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 649 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 32.0% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,658 shares of the bank's stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 644 shares during the period. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Simmons First National in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.58% of the company's stock.

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.

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