DA Davidson Reiterates Neutral Rating for Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC)

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating reissued by stock analysts at DA Davidson in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $21.00 price objective on the bank’s stock. DA Davidson’s price target would suggest a potential downside of 2.42% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on SFNC. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Simmons First National from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $23.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research lowered Simmons First National from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Simmons First National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. National Bank Financial set a $21.00 price objective on Simmons First National in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Simmons First National from $23.00 to $21.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Simmons First National currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.86.

Simmons First National Stock Performance

Simmons First National stock opened at $21.52 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The company has a market cap of $3.12 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.41 and a beta of 0.89. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.33. Simmons First National has a fifty-two week low of $17.00 and a fifty-two week high of $22.17.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The bank reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.47. The business had revenue of $241.37 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $243.02 million. Simmons First National had a negative net margin of 25.44% and a positive return on equity of 7.81%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.26 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Simmons First National will post 1.66 EPS for the current year.

Simmons First National declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, February 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $175.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the bank to buy up to 5.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Simmons First National

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 52.0% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 146,633 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,811,000 after purchasing an additional 50,145 shares during the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Simmons First National in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,810,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 396.5% in the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 164,577 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,155,000 after purchasing an additional 131,431 shares during the last quarter. Ghisallo Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Simmons First National in the 3rd quarter worth about $4,313,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,630,535 shares of the bank’s stock worth $146,279,000 after purchasing an additional 169,768 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.58% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Simmons First National

Here are the key news stories impacting Simmons First National this week:

• Positive Sentiment: EPS jumped to $0.47 from $0.26 a year ago and matched consensus, signaling meaningful earnings improvement that supports valuation upside. Simmons First National Corporation Reports First Quarter EPS of $0.47
• Positive Sentiment: Core loan growth accelerated (total loans up ~10% annualized) and average deposits rose ~6% annualized, supporting future net interest income. Q1 Press Release
• Positive Sentiment: Net interest margin ticked up (~3 bps) and key profitability metrics (ROA, ROE, adjusted ROTCE) improved year-over-year, indicating operating leverage despite a higher efficiency ratio versus some peers. Q1 Press Release
• Neutral Sentiment: Management materials and the earnings-call transcript are available for more color on outlook, credit, and capital deployment; investors can review the slide deck and call transcript to assess guidance and commentary. Earnings Presentation Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Total revenue missed the Street by a small margin ($241.4M reported vs. ~$243.0M expected), which could temper multiple expansion until top-line momentum is clearer. Q1 Earnings Summary
• Negative Sentiment: DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $21.00 price target, which is below the recent trade level and could act as near-term resistance for the stock. DA Davidson Note (Benzinga)
• Negative Sentiment: Provision expense exceeded net charge-offs by $5.5M in the quarter, a modestly cautious credit signal investors will watch alongside asset-quality metrics. Q1 Press Release

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.