Stephens Cuts Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) Price Target to $28.00

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) had its price target trimmed by Stephens from $29.00 to $28.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the bank’s stock.

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Simmons First National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $23.00.

Simmons First National Price Performance

NASDAQ:SFNC opened at $22.40 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $2.81 billion, a PE ratio of 18.51 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $23.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.01. Simmons First National has a 52 week low of $16.03 and a 52 week high of $25.95.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.03. Simmons First National had a return on equity of 5.10% and a net margin of 10.46%. The company had revenue of $208.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $208,673.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.40 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Simmons First National will post 1.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Simmons First National Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Simmons First National’s payout ratio is 69.42%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Simmons First National news, CEO Robert A. Fehlman sold 15,270 shares of Simmons First National stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.02, for a total transaction of $366,785.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 156,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,755,695.14. The trade was a 8.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO David W. Garner sold 5,090 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.25, for a total transaction of $128,522.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 64,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,640,391.50. This trade represents a 7.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 45,800 shares of company stock valued at $1,136,650 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.91% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Simmons First National

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in Simmons First National by 9,443.9% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,395,980 shares of the bank’s stock worth $24,541,000 after buying an additional 1,381,353 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Simmons First National by 33.8% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 676,171 shares of the bank’s stock worth $14,565,000 after acquiring an additional 170,821 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 131.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 247,821 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,337,000 after purchasing an additional 140,738 shares during the last quarter. Dean Investment Associates LLC boosted its position in Simmons First National by 231.6% during the third quarter. Dean Investment Associates LLC now owns 137,352 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,959,000 after purchasing an additional 95,928 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Simmons First National by 3.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,866,142 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $40,197,000 after purchasing an additional 65,992 shares during the last quarter. 27.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Simmons First National Company Profile

Simmons First National Corporation operates as the holding company for Simmons Bank that provides banking and other financial products and services to individuals and businesses. The company offers checking, savings, and time deposits; consumer, real estate, and commercial loans; agricultural finance, equipment, and small business administration lending; trust and fiduciary services; credit cards; investment management products; treasury management; insurance products; and securities and investment services.