Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) Lowered to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning.

SFNC has been the topic of several other research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Simmons First National from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Stephens raised their price target on shares of Simmons First National from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Simmons First National from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $21.75.

Simmons First National Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of Simmons First National stock opened at $21.42 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $19.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $18.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.11 and a beta of 0.88. Simmons First National has a 12-month low of $13.36 and a 12-month high of $22.29.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $372.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $197.30 million. Simmons First National had a return on equity of 5.33% and a net margin of 10.49%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.48 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Simmons First National will post 1.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Simmons First National Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.92%. Simmons First National’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Simmons First National news, CEO Robert A. Fehlman sold 8,680 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.93, for a total value of $190,352.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 156,357 shares in the company, valued at $3,428,909.01. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Simmons First National news, CAO David W. Garner sold 3,600 shares of Simmons First National stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.21, for a total value of $76,356.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 64,966 shares in the company, valued at $1,377,928.86. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert A. Fehlman sold 8,680 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.93, for a total transaction of $190,352.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 156,357 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,428,909.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 33,700 shares of company stock worth $728,952. Corporate insiders own 1.91% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Simmons First National

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of SFNC. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in Simmons First National by 3.8% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 59,025 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,038,000 after purchasing an additional 2,174 shares during the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 24.1% during the second quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 26,347 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $469,000 after buying an additional 5,112 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 9,443.9% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,395,980 shares of the bank’s stock worth $24,541,000 after buying an additional 1,381,353 shares during the period. Silver Lake Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Simmons First National during the 2nd quarter valued at about $283,000. Finally, Algert Global LLC purchased a new position in Simmons First National during the 2nd quarter valued at $222,000. 27.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Simmons First National

Simmons First National Corporation operates as the holding company for Simmons Bank that provides banking and other financial products and services to individuals and businesses. The company offers checking, savings, and time deposits; consumer, real estate, and commercial loans; agricultural finance, equipment, and small business administration lending; trust and fiduciary services; credit cards; investment management products; treasury management; insurance products; and securities and investment services.