Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) Reaches New 52-Week High on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $23.74 and last traded at $23.35, with a volume of 48822 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $23.28.

The bank reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.04. Simmons First National had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 5.33%. The company had revenue of $203.20 million during 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on SFNC shares. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Simmons First National from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com raised Simmons First National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Simmons First National from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Stephens upgraded shares of Simmons First National from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $27.00 to $28.00 in a report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $23.00.

Insider Transactions at Simmons First National

In related news, CAO David W. Garner sold 3,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.21, for a total transaction of $76,356.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 64,966 shares in the company, valued at $1,377,928.86. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, Chairman George Makris, Jr. sold 21,420 shares of Simmons First National stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 608,347 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,128,128.26. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 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. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 33,700 shares of company stock worth $728,952. 1.91% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Simmons First National

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Naviter Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Simmons First National in the third quarter valued at $292,000. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 3.8% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 59,025 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,038,000 after acquiring an additional 2,174 shares in the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 24.1% during the 2nd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 26,347 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $469,000 after buying an additional 5,112 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in shares of Simmons First National by 9,443.9% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,395,980 shares of the bank’s stock worth $24,541,000 after purchasing an additional 1,381,353 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Silver Lake Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Simmons First National in the second quarter valued at about $283,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.58% of the company’s stock.

Simmons First National Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $21.22 and a 200-day moving average of $19.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.32 and a beta of 0.87.

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.