Simmons First National's (NASDAQ:SFNC) Shareholders Will Receive A Bigger Dividend Than Last Year

Simmons First National Corporation's (NASDAQ:SFNC) dividend will be increasing from last year's payment of the same period to $0.20 on 3rd of April. This takes the dividend yield to 3.7%, which shareholders will be pleased with.

See our latest analysis for Simmons First National

Simmons First National's Dividend Forecasted To Be Well Covered By Earnings

We like to see robust dividend yields, but that doesn't matter if the payment isn't sustainable.

Simmons First National has a long history of paying out dividends, with its current track record at a minimum of 10 years. Past distributions do not necessarily guarantee future ones, but Simmons First National's payout ratio of 41% is a good sign as this means that earnings decently cover dividends.

Over the next 3 years, EPS is forecast to expand by 6.2%. The future payout ratio could be 39% over that time period, according to analyst estimates, which is a good look for the future of the dividend.

Simmons First National Has A Solid Track Record

The company has a sustained record of paying dividends with very little fluctuation. The annual payment during the last 10 years was $0.40 in 2013, and the most recent fiscal year payment was $0.80. This implies that the company grew its distributions at a yearly rate of about 7.2% over that duration. The growth of the dividend has been pretty reliable, so we think this can offer investors some nice additional income in their portfolio.

The Dividend Has Growth Potential

The company's investors will be pleased to have been receiving dividend income for some time. It's encouraging to see that Simmons First National has been growing its earnings per share at 8.5% a year over the past five years. Earnings are on the uptrend, and it is only paying a small portion of those earnings to shareholders.

An additional note is that the company has been raising capital by issuing stock equal to 13% of shares outstanding in the last 12 months. Regularly doing this can be detrimental - it's hard to grow dividends per share when new shares are regularly being created.

We Really Like Simmons First National's Dividend

Overall, a dividend increase is always good, and we think that Simmons First National is a strong income stock thanks to its track record and growing earnings. Earnings are easily covering distributions, and the company is generating plenty of cash. Taking this all into consideration, this looks like it could be a good dividend opportunity.

Investors generally tend to favour companies with a consistent, stable dividend policy as opposed to those operating an irregular one. However, there are other things to consider for investors when analysing stock performance. Taking the debate a bit further, we've identified 2 warning signs for Simmons First National that investors need to be conscious of moving forward. Looking for more high-yielding dividend ideas? Try our collection of strong dividend payers.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.