Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.02 EPS

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) posted its earnings results on Wednesday. The bank reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.02, Briefing.com reports. Simmons First National had a net margin of 11.97% and a return on equity of 5.94%. The business had revenue of $372.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $197.30 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.48 EPS.

Simmons First National Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SFNC traded up $0.85 during trading on Thursday, reaching $21.95. 303,613 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 501,609. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. Simmons First National has a 12 month low of $13.36 and a 12 month high of $22.11. The company has a 50 day moving average of $17.82 and a 200-day moving average of $18.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.50 and a beta of 0.89.

Simmons First National Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.83%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Simmons First National’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on SFNC. Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Simmons First National from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Simmons First National from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Simmons First National from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Simmons First National has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.33.

Insider Activity at Simmons First National

In other Simmons First National news, EVP George A. Makris III sold 15,625 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.23, for a total value of $269,218.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 39,707 shares in the company, valued at approximately $684,151.61. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.91% of the company’s stock.

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.