Stephens Has Lowered Expectations for Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) Stock Price

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) had its price objective cut by analysts at Stephens from $29.00 to $28.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the bank’s stock. Stephens’ price target indicates a potential upside of 24.28% from the stock’s previous close.

Separately, StockNews.com raised Simmons First National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Simmons First National has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $23.00.

Simmons First National Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ SFNC opened at $22.53 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $2.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.62 and a beta of 0.87. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $23.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Simmons First National has a 52-week low of $16.03 and a 52-week high of $25.95.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $208.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $208,673.17 billion. Simmons First National had a return on equity of 5.10% and a net margin of 10.46%. Simmons First National’s quarterly revenue was up 17.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.40 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Simmons First National will post 1.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO David W. Garner sold 5,090 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.25, for a total value of $128,522.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 64,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,640,391.50. This represents a 7.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Robert A. Fehlman sold 15,270 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.02, for a total value of $366,785.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 156,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,755,695.14. This trade represents a 8.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 45,800 shares of company stock valued at $1,136,650 in the last three months. 1.91% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 105.9% in the 3rd quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 3,888 shares of the bank’s stock worth $84,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in Simmons First National by 13.7% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 4,129 shares of the bank’s stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 497 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Simmons First National by 29.0% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,648 shares of the bank’s stock worth $100,000 after buying an additional 1,045 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,778 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $168,000 after buying an additional 403 shares during the period. Finally, Profund Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Simmons First National during the 2nd quarter worth about $183,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.