Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC) Raises Dividend to $0.22 Per Share

Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, February 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of 0.215 per share by the bank on Wednesday, April 1st. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This is a 1.2% increase from Simmons First National’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21.

Simmons First National has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.0%annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 14 consecutive years. Simmons First National has a dividend payout ratio of 45.5% indicating that 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 Stock Performance

NASDAQ SFNC traded up $0.44 on Wednesday, reaching $20.85. The stock had a trading volume of 240,983 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,148,470. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The company has a market cap of $3.02 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.53 and a beta of 0.93. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $20.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $19.46. Simmons First National has a 1-year low of $17.00 and a 1-year high of $22.34.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The bank reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $249.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $238.68 million. Simmons First National had a positive return on equity of 6.73% and a negative net margin of 27.83%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 19.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.39 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Simmons First National will post 1.66 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Simmons First National

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. TMB Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Simmons First National during the 4th quarter worth $920,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 148.1% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 34,068 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $643,000 after buying an additional 20,338 shares during the period. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Simmons First National by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 12,080 shares of the bank’s stock worth $228,000 after acquiring an additional 1,007 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Simmons First National by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 19,079 shares of the bank’s stock worth $360,000 after acquiring an additional 495 shares during the period. Finally, VARCOV Co. bought a new stake in Simmons First National in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $733,000. Institutional investors own 27.58% of the company’s stock.

About Simmons First National

Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC) is a bank holding company headquartered in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Through its primary operating subsidiary, Simmons Bank, the company maintains a network of more than 200 branches across Arkansas, Tennessee, Missouri, Mississippi, Texas, Oklahoma and North Carolina. Simmons First National offers a full suite of financial services to individuals, small businesses and commercial clients, emphasizing relationship-driven community banking.

The company’s core business activities span deposit-taking, lending and payment services.