Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) Upgraded by Stephens to “Overweight”

Stephens upgraded shares of Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a report published on Monday morning, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has $28.00 price objective on the bank’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $27.00.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Simmons First National from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Simmons First National from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Simmons First National from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Simmons First National currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $23.00.

Simmons First National Stock Up 0.6 %

SFNC opened at $23.45 on Monday. Simmons First National has a fifty-two week low of $13.36 and a fifty-two week high of $23.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market cap of $2.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.99 and a beta of 0.87. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $21.44 and its 200 day moving average is $19.38.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The bank reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.04. Simmons First National had a return on equity of 5.15% and a net margin of 8.94%. The business had revenue of $203.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $204.91 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.39 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Simmons First National will post 1.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Simmons First National

In related news, CAO David W. Garner sold 3,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.21, for a total value of $76,356.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 64,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,377,928.86. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.91% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Simmons First National

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. bought a new stake in Simmons First National during the first quarter worth approximately $31,495,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in shares of Simmons First National by 9,443.9% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,395,980 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $24,541,000 after purchasing an additional 1,381,353 shares during the last quarter. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Simmons First National during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $10,723,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Simmons First National by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,323,934 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $128,752,000 after buying an additional 413,459 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Simmons First National by 54.3% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 992,678 shares of the bank’s stock worth $19,695,000 after buying an additional 349,534 shares during the last quarter. 27.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Simmons First National

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.