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 research report report published on Monday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. Stephens currently has $28.00 price objective on the bank’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $27.00.

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

Simmons First National Trading Up 0.6 %

SFNC stock opened at $23.45 on Monday. Simmons First National has a 12 month low of $13.36 and a 12 month high of $23.74. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $21.44 and its 200 day moving average is $19.38. The company has a market capitalization of $2.94 billion, a PE ratio of 22.99 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last issued its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The bank reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.04. Simmons First National had a net margin of 8.94% and a return on equity of 5.15%. 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 prior year, the firm earned $0.39 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Simmons First National will post 1.3 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Simmons First National

In other Simmons First National news, CAO David W. Garner sold 3,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.21, for a total transaction of $76,356.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.91% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Simmons First National by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,323,934 shares of the bank’s stock worth $128,752,000 after buying an additional 413,459 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its stake in Simmons First National by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 1,677,924 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $29,498,000 after acquiring an additional 59,495 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 1,381,353 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Simmons First National by 54.3% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 992,678 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $19,695,000 after acquiring an additional 349,534 shares during the period. Finally, Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 28.0% in the 2nd quarter. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. now owns 705,138 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $12,396,000 after purchasing an additional 154,128 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.58% of the company’s stock.

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.