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

Key Points

• Simmons First National Corporation has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, payable on October 1st to stockholders of record on September 15th, offering an annualized yield of 4.1%.
• The company reported earnings per share of $0.44 for the last quarter, surpassing estimates, with an anticipated earnings per share of $1.81 for the next fiscal year which supports its dividend coverage.
• As of the latest trading session, Simmons First National stock has a market cap of $3.00 billion and is currently priced at $20.76, reflecting a minor decline of 0.1%.

Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, September 2nd, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of 0.2125 per share by the bank on Wednesday, October 1st. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th.

Simmons First National has a payout ratio of 45.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Simmons First National to earn $1.81 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.85 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 47.0%.

Simmons First National Price Performance

Simmons First National stock traded down $0.28 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $20.88. 516,184 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 785,639. Simmons First National has a 52-week low of $17.20 and a 52-week high of $25.95. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $19.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The company has a market cap of $3.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.44 and a beta of 0.97.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.04. Simmons First National had a return on equity of 5.23% and a net margin of 11.19%.The business had revenue of $214.18 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $217.21 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.33 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Simmons First National will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on SFNC. Wall Street Zen raised Simmons First National from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Simmons First National from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Simmons First National from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Zacks Research raised Simmons First National from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $22.75.

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.