Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the nine analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation, two have assigned a buy recommendation and three have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $22.4286.

A number of research analysts have commented on SFNC shares. Robert W. Baird upgraded Simmons First National from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Simmons First National from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Simmons First National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Simmons First National from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Simmons First National from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th.

Simmons First National Stock Performance

Shares of SFNC opened at $21.29 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.08 billion, a PE ratio of -7.69 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $19.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.39. Simmons First National has a 52 week low of $17.00 and a 52 week high of $22.76.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The bank reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $238.68 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.39 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Simmons First National will post 1.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Institutional Trading of Simmons First National

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Simmons First National by 271.3% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 158,856 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,261,000 after purchasing an additional 116,072 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position 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 valued at $1,516,000 after purchasing an additional 3,221 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 3,624.6% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 13,036 shares of the bank’s stock worth $268,000 after buying an additional 12,686 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 1,288.2% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 18,046 shares of the bank’s stock worth $411,000 after buying an additional 16,746 shares during the period. 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.