Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) Reaches New 52-Week High at $22.45

Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC) shares hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $22.45 and last traded at $21.86, with a volume of 316031 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $21.35.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SFNC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stephens increased 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Simmons First National from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Simmons First National from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Simmons First National from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Simmons First National currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.75.

Simmons First National Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $20.45 and a 200-day moving average of $18.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.01 and a beta of 0.87. 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 (NASDAQ:SFNC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $372.44 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $197.30 million. Simmons First National had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 5.33%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.48 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Simmons First National Co. will post 1.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Simmons First National Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.88%. Simmons First National’s payout ratio is 63.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Simmons First National news, Chairman George Makris, Jr. sold 21,420 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.58, for a total value of $462,243.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 608,347 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,128,128.26. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CAO David W. Garner sold 3,600 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 64,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,377,928.86. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman George Makris, Jr. sold 21,420 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.58, for a total value of $462,243.60. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 608,347 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,128,128.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 33,700 shares of company stock worth $728,952 in the last ninety days. 1.91% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Simmons First National by 161.0% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,843 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,137 shares during the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 2,045.5% in the 2nd quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 1,888 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 1,800 shares in the last quarter. Profund Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Simmons First National in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $183,000. TFO Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 250,150.0% during the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 10,010 shares of the bank’s stock worth $199,000 after acquiring an additional 10,006 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Algert Global LLC purchased a new stake in Simmons First National during the second quarter valued at approximately $222,000. 27.58% of the stock is owned by 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.