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

Zacks Research lowered shares of Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Simmons First National from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. DA Davidson upped their target price on Simmons First National from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Raymond James Financial upgraded Simmons First National from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $23.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Simmons First National in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, National Bank Financial set a $21.00 price objective on Simmons First National in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.43.

Simmons First National Stock Down 2.3%

SFNC stock opened at $18.96 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Simmons First National has a 1-year low of $17.00 and a 1-year high of $22.17. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $20.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.31. The firm has a market cap of $2.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.84 and a beta of 0.91.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The bank reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.05. Simmons First National had a negative net margin of 27.83% and a positive return on equity of 6.73%. The company had revenue of $249.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $238.68 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.39 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Simmons First National will post 1.66 EPS for the current year.

Simmons First National Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a $0.215 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This is an increase from Simmons First National’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.5%. Simmons First National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -31.05%.

Simmons First National announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 17th that permits the company to repurchase $175.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the bank to reacquire up to 5.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Simmons First National

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in Simmons First National by 27.2% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 88,632 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,820,000 after acquiring an additional 18,933 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Simmons First National by 271.3% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 158,856 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,261,000 after acquiring an additional 116,072 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 4.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 73,861 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,516,000 after purchasing an additional 3,221 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 3,624.6% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 13,036 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 12,686 shares during the period. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 1,288.2% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 18,046 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $411,000 after purchasing an additional 16,746 shares during the period. 27.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Simmons First National Company Profile

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.