Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC) Raises Dividend to $0.21 Per Share

Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, January 30th,RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of 0.2125 per share by the bank on Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.85 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.73%. This is a positive change from Simmons First National’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21.

Simmons First National has increased its dividend by an average of 5.3% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 13 years. Simmons First National has a dividend payout ratio of 44.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Simmons First National to earn $1.79 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.84 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 46.9%.

Simmons First National Stock Performance

Shares of Simmons First National stock opened at $22.77 on Friday. Simmons First National has a 12 month low of $16.03 and a 12 month high of $25.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $2.86 billion, a PE ratio of 18.82 and a beta of 0.87. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.18.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $208.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $208.67 million. Simmons First National had a return on equity of 5.10% and a net margin of 10.46%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.40 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Simmons First National will post 1.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SFNC has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Simmons First National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Stephens dropped their price target on shares of Simmons First National from $29.00 to $28.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd.

Insider Activity at Simmons First National

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

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.