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

Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, April 24th, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a dividend of 0.21 per share by the bank on Monday, July 1st. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.71%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th.

Simmons First National has increased its dividend payment by an average of 5.6% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 13 consecutive years. Simmons First National has a dividend payout ratio of 51.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Simmons First National to earn $1.63 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 51.5%.

Simmons First National Stock Performance

NASDAQ SFNC opened at $17.85 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market cap of $2.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.42 and a beta of 0.87. Simmons First National has a twelve month low of $13.36 and a twelve month high of $20.82. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $18.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.98.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.32. Simmons First National had a net margin of 11.97% and a return on equity of 5.94%. The business had revenue of $195.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $202.35 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.37 earnings per share. Simmons First National’s revenue was down 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Simmons First National will post 1.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Simmons First National from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Simmons First National from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Simmons First National from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Stephens dropped their price objective on shares of Simmons First National from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Simmons First National presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.00.

Simmons First National Company Profile

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.