Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) Downgraded by Morgan Stanley to “Underweight”

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) was downgraded by analysts at Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have a $26.00 target price on the bank’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 9.75% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Simmons First National in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. National Bank Financial set a $26.00 price target on shares of Simmons First National in a research report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Simmons First National from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Simmons First National in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised Simmons First National from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $26.00 to $27.50 in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Simmons First National presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.50.

Simmons First National Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SFNC opened at $23.69 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Simmons First National has a twelve month low of $17.00 and a twelve month high of $24.32. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $23.17 and its 200-day moving average is $21.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.36 and a beta of 0.89.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The bank reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.44 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Simmons First National will post 2.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 35.6% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,884 shares of the bank’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 495 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Simmons First National by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 19,079 shares of the bank’s stock worth $360,000 after acquiring an additional 495 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in Simmons First National by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 33,075 shares of the bank’s stock worth $623,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its position in Simmons First National by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 21,065 shares of the bank’s stock worth $397,000 after purchasing an additional 513 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Simmons First National by 31.9% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,339 shares of the bank’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 566 shares during the last quarter. 27.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.