Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) Cut to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research cut shares of Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

SFNC has been the topic of several other research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Simmons First National from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Simmons First National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Simmons First National from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Simmons First National in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.75.

Simmons First National Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SFNC opened at $19.00 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.96 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a 50-day moving average of $19.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $19.37. Simmons First National has a fifty-two week low of $17.20 and a fifty-two week high of $25.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.04. Simmons First National had a return on equity of 5.23% and a net margin of 11.19%.The business had revenue of $214.18 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $217.21 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.33 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Simmons First National will post 1.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Simmons First National Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th were given a dividend of $0.2125 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $0.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.5%. Simmons First National’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.93%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Charles Daniel Hobbs bought 5,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $18.50 per share, with a total value of $99,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,213 shares in the company, valued at $188,940.50. This represents a 112.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Marty Casteel purchased 5,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $18.50 per share, for a total transaction of $99,900.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 213,901 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,957,168.50. This trade represents a 2.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased 100,755 shares of company stock valued at $1,865,332 in the last quarter. 1.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Simmons First National

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Simmons First National in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,086,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its position in Simmons First National by 1,263.3% in the 1st quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 7,621 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $156,000 after buying an additional 7,062 shares during the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 14,738 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $303,000 after buying an additional 1,056 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Simmons First National by 11.4% during the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 17,917 shares of the bank’s stock worth $368,000 after acquiring an additional 1,838 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its position in shares of Simmons First National by 2.9% during the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 69,229 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,421,000 after acquiring an additional 1,926 shares during the last quarter. 27.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Simmons First National Company Profile

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.