StockNews.com Downgrades Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) to Sell

StockNews.com lowered shares of Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on SFNC. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Simmons First National from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Simmons First National from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Simmons First National from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Simmons First National has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $21.75.

Simmons First National Stock Up 1.5 %

Simmons First National stock opened at $21.42 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Simmons First National has a 1-year low of $13.36 and a 1-year high of $22.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.11 and a beta of 0.88. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.67.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.02. Simmons First National had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 5.33%. The firm had revenue of $372.44 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $197.30 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.48 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Simmons First National will post 1.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Simmons First National Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Simmons First National’s payout ratio is 63.16%.

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 that occurred 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 64,966 shares in the company, valued at $1,377,928.86. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Simmons First National news, CAO David W. Garner sold 3,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.21, for a total transaction of $76,356.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 64,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,377,928.86. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert A. Fehlman sold 8,680 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.93, for a total transaction of $190,352.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 156,357 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,428,909.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 33,700 shares of company stock worth $728,952 over the last three months. 1.91% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Denali Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Simmons First National during the 1st quarter valued at $3,577,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 3,808.6% in the 1st quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 95,839 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,865,000 after buying an additional 93,387 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 17.1% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 173,229 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,371,000 after buying an additional 25,316 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of Simmons First National by 90.0% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 66,037 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,285,000 after buying an additional 31,284 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 50.8% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 188,822 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,674,000 after acquiring an additional 63,589 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.58% of the company’s stock.

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.