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

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC - Free Report) had its price target decreased by Stephens from $29.00 to $28.00 in a research report report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Stephens currently has an overweight rating on the bank's stock.

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

Simmons First National Trading Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ SFNC traded up $0.13 on Thursday, hitting $22.53. The company's stock had a trading volume of 526,992 shares, compared to its average volume of 638,126. The firm has a market cap of $2.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.62 and a beta of 0.87. Simmons First National has a 52-week low of $16.03 and a 52-week high of $25.95. 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 current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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%. The firm's revenue was up 17.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.40 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Simmons First National will post 1.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Simmons First National Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Simmons First National's dividend payout ratio is presently 69.42%.

Insider Activity at Simmons First National

In other news, 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 transaction of $366,785.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 156,357 shares in the company, valued at $3,755,695.14. This trade represents a 8.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman George Makris, Jr. sold 25,440 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.21, for a total transaction of $641,342.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 608,347 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,336,427.87. The trade was a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 45,800 shares of company stock valued at $1,136,650 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.91% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of SFNC. Dark Forest Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Simmons First National during the second quarter valued at $479,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 646,325 shares of the bank's stock valued at $13,922,000 after acquiring an additional 27,479 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 3.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,866,142 shares of the bank's stock worth $40,197,000 after acquiring an additional 65,992 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Simmons First National during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,339,000. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP bought a new position in Simmons First National during the third quarter valued at approximately $824,000. 27.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.