Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC) Announces 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 paid a dividend of 0.2125 per share by the bank on Wednesday, October 1st. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend 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. Research 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

Shares of NASDAQ SFNC traded down $0.19 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $20.69. The company had a trading volume of 140,724 shares, compared to its average volume of 843,485. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. Simmons First National has a one year low of $17.20 and a one year high of $25.95. The firm has a market cap of $2.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.29 and a beta of 0.97. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $19.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.58.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $214.18 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $217.21 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.33 earnings per share. Simmons First National's revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Simmons First National will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Steenberg Christopher J. Van bought 13,500 shares of Simmons First National stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $18.50 per share, for a total transaction of $249,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief operating officer directly owned 13,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $249,750. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Marty Casteel bought 5,400 shares of Simmons First National stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $18.50 per share, for a total transaction of $99,900.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 213,901 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,957,168.50. The trade was a 2.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased a total of 100,755 shares of company stock valued at $1,865,332 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.91% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Simmons First National

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Algert Global LLC bought a new stake in Simmons First National in the fourth quarter worth approximately $253,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Simmons First National by 91.2% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 80,093 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,776,000 after buying an additional 38,212 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in shares of Simmons First National by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 76,482 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,696,000 after buying an additional 1,134 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in shares of Simmons First National by 31.3% during the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 75,909 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,684,000 after buying an additional 18,110 shares during the period. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Simmons First National during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,581,000. 27.58% of the stock is currently owned by 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.