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

Simmons First National Co. (NASDAQ:SFNC - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, January 30th,RTT News reports. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Simmons First National's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21.

Simmons First National has raised its dividend by an average of 5.3% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 13 years. Simmons First National has a payout ratio of 45.7% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research 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 $0.85 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 47.5%.

Simmons First National Stock Down 1.8 %

Simmons First National stock traded down $0.42 during trading on Monday, reaching $22.30. The stock had a trading volume of 504,362 shares, compared to its average volume of 602,284. The stock has a market cap of $2.80 billion, a PE ratio of 18.43 and a beta of 0.86. Simmons First National has a 52-week low of $16.03 and a 52-week 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $22.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.22.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $0.39 EPS 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $208.67 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.40 EPS. The company's revenue was up 17.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Simmons First National will post 1.66 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on SFNC. Stephens dropped their price target on 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Simmons First National from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st.

Insider Activity at Simmons First National

In related news, CAO David W. Garner sold 5,090 shares of Simmons First National stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.25, for a total transaction of $128,522.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 64,966 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,640,391.50. The trade was a 7.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman George Makris, Jr. sold 25,440 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.21, for a total value of $641,342.40. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 608,347 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,336,427.87. The trade was a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 45,800 shares of company stock worth $1,136,650 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.91% of the company's stock.

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.