Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) Sets New 12-Month High - Here's Why

Key Points

• Simmons First National shares hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $23.50 as investors pushed the stock above its previous close of $22.72.
• Analyst sentiment is generally constructive, with the stock carrying a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $23.00. Stephens recently lifted its target to $25 and rated the shares overweight.
• The bank reported Q1 earnings of $0.47 per share, matching estimates, while revenue rose 15.2% year over year. Simmons also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.215 per share, equal to an annualized yield of about 3.8%.

Shares of Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $23.50 and last traded at $22.8070, with a volume of 464 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $22.72.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SFNC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Stephens raised their price target on shares of Simmons First National from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. National Bank Financial set a $24.00 price objective on shares of Simmons First National in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Simmons First National from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. DA Davidson restated a "neutral" rating and set a $21.00 target price on shares of Simmons First National in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Simmons First National from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $23.00.

Simmons First National Trading Up 0.5%

The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.93 and a beta of 0.90. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $21.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.65.

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

Simmons First National Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a dividend of $0.215 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $0.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. Simmons First National's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -33.59%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Simmons First National

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 27.2% during the 1st 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 during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Simmons First National by 271.3% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 158,856 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,261,000 after acquiring an additional 116,072 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in Simmons First National by 4.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 73,861 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,516,000 after acquiring an additional 3,221 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in Simmons First National by 3,624.6% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 13,036 shares of the bank's stock worth $268,000 after acquiring an additional 12,686 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 1,288.2% in the 1st 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.