Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) Price Target Raised to $25.00

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) had its price target increased by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $24.00 to $25.00 in a research report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a market perform rating on the bank’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on SFNC. National Bank Financial set a $25.00 price target on Simmons First National in a research report on Monday. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of Simmons First National in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a “positive” rating on shares of Simmons First National in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Simmons First National from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Stephens boosted their target price on shares of Simmons First National from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $24.50.

Simmons First National Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ SFNC opened at $23.11 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.35 billion, a PE ratio of -9.13 and a beta of 0.90. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $22.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.90. Simmons First National has a 12-month low of $17.00 and a 12-month high of $23.91.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The bank reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.03). Simmons First National had a positive return on equity of 8.32% and a negative net margin of 24.64%.The firm had revenue of $248.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $250.98 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.44 earnings per share. Simmons First National’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Simmons First National will post 2.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Simmons First National Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a $0.215 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $0.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Simmons First National’s dividend payout ratio is currently -33.99%.

Institutional Trading of Simmons First National

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in Simmons First National by 156.0% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,518 shares of the bank’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 925 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 197.5% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,663 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,104 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 35.6% during the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,884 shares of the bank’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 495 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 32.0% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,658 shares of the bank’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 644 shares during the period. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Simmons First National during the 4th quarter worth about $66,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.58% of the company’s stock.

About Simmons First National

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.