Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.21

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 paid 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 an increase 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 Up 0.8 %

SFNC opened at $22.77 on Friday. Simmons First National has a 1-year low of $16.03 and a 1-year high of $25.95. The business has a 50 day moving average of $23.03 and a 200-day moving average of $22.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.82 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

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

Insider Activity

In other 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 sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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 that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 156,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,755,695.14. This trade represents a 8.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 45,800 shares of company stock worth $1,136,650. 1.91% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Stephens decreased their target price on Simmons First National from $29.00 to $28.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded Simmons First National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st.

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.