Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) Given New $25.00 Price Target at Stephens

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) had its price target increased by Stephens from $24.00 to $25.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the bank’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Simmons First National in a report on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research cut Simmons First National from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $21.00 price target on shares of Simmons First National in a report on Friday. Raymond James Financial raised Simmons First National from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $23.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, National Bank Financial set a $21.00 price target on Simmons First National in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.00.

Simmons First National Stock Performance

Shares of SFNC stock opened at $21.66 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The business has a 50 day moving average of $20.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $19.35. Simmons First National has a 52 week low of $17.00 and a 52 week high of $22.17. The company has a market cap of $3.14 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.46 and a beta of 0.89.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The bank reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47. Simmons First National had a positive return on equity of 7.81% and a negative net margin of 25.44%.The company had revenue of $241.37 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $243.02 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.26 earnings per share. Simmons First National’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Simmons First National will post 2.05 EPS for the current year.

Simmons First National announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, February 17th that allows the company to buyback $175.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the bank to reacquire up to 5.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Simmons First National Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a dividend of $0.215 per share. This represents a $0.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. This is a boost from Simmons First National’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. Simmons First National’s dividend payout ratio is presently -33.59%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Simmons First National

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Simmons First National by 197.5% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,663 shares of the bank’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,104 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in Simmons First National by 35.6% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,884 shares of the bank’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 495 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in Simmons First National by 42.5% during the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,175 shares of the bank’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 649 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in Simmons First National by 32.0% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,658 shares of the bank’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 644 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP bought a new stake in Simmons First National during the fourth quarter worth approximately $66,000. Institutional investors own 27.58% of the company’s stock.

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.