Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Analyst Says

Key Points

• Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised its price target on Simmons First National from $24 to $25, while keeping a market perform rating. That implies about 8.9% upside from the current share price.
• Other analysts were also mostly constructive, with several firms setting $25 price targets and ratings ranging from buy to hold. MarketBeat says the stock now has a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target of $24.50.
• The bank recently reported second-quarter EPS of $0.50, missing estimates of $0.53, though revenue rose 16.1% year over year. Shares opened at $22.95, near the top of their 52-week range of $17.00 to $23.91.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC - Get Free Report) had its price target upped by stock analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $24.00 to $25.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "market perform" rating on the bank's stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' price target points to a potential upside of 8.93% from the company's current price.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on SFNC. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $25.00 target price on shares of Simmons First National in a report on Friday. National Bank Financial set a $25.00 price target on shares of Simmons First National in a research note on Monday. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Simmons First National from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. DA Davidson restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $23.00 price objective on shares of Simmons First National in a research note on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a "positive" rating on shares of Simmons First National in a report on Monday, June 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $24.50.

Simmons First National Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SFNC opened at $22.95 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $21.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.81. The stock has a market cap of $3.33 billion, a PE ratio of -9.07 and a beta of 0.90. 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 has a 52-week low of $17.00 and a 52-week high of $23.91.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The bank reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 had revenue of $248.57 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $250.98 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.44 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Simmons First National will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Simmons First National by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,558,574 shares of the bank's stock worth $67,090,000 after purchasing an additional 53,994 shares during the last quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC raised its stake in Simmons First National by 238.5% during the fourth quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC now owns 39,461 shares of the bank's stock worth $752,000 after purchasing an additional 27,803 shares during the period. Burney Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 22.0% in the 4th quarter. Burney Co. now owns 261,687 shares of the bank's stock valued at $4,933,000 after purchasing an additional 47,248 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,471,523 shares of the bank's stock valued at $310,488,000 after purchasing an additional 51,914 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 19.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,008,857 shares of the bank's stock valued at $19,340,000 after buying an additional 166,211 shares during the period. 27.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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