Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC – Get Rating) issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The bank reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.08, MarketWatch Earnings reports. The company had revenue of $207.74 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $202.14 million. Simmons First National had a return on equity of 9.09% and a net margin of 31.31%. Simmons First National’s revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.59 EPS.

NASDAQ SFNC traded down $0.89 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $23.87. The company had a trading volume of 846,316 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,275,426. Simmons First National has a fifty-two week low of $22.89 and a fifty-two week high of $32.76. The company has a market capitalization of $2.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.82 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $26.76 and its 200 day moving average is $28.93.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 15th will be issued a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 14th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.18%. Simmons First National’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.28%.

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Comerica Bank increased its holdings in Simmons First National by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 112,804 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,325,000 after purchasing an additional 717 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in Simmons First National by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 167,410 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,952,000 after purchasing an additional 1,113 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank increased its holdings in Simmons First National by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 53,941 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,596,000 after purchasing an additional 2,145 shares in the last quarter. Parametric Portfolio Associates LLC increased its holdings in Simmons First National by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Parametric Portfolio Associates LLC now owns 334,561 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,896,000 after purchasing an additional 4,265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in Simmons First National by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 93,450 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,764,000 after buying an additional 5,923 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.70% of the company’s stock.

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Zacks Investment Research upgraded Simmons First National from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, April 1st. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Simmons First National in a report on Thursday, March 31st. They set a “hold” rating for the company.

About Simmons First National (Get Rating)

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. It 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; insurance products; and securities and investment services.

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