Apr 20, 2021 12:11 (GMT) –
PINE BLUFF, Ark. (AP) _ Simmons First National Corp. (SFNC) on Tuesday reported first-quarter profit of $67.4 million.
The Pine Bluff, Arkansas-based company said it had net income of 62 cents per share.
The results surpassed Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of four analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 52 cents per share.
The bank holding company posted revenue of $221.3 million in the period. Its adjusted revenue was $198.6 million, also topping Street forecasts. Three analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $196 million.
“We are very pleased with our solid performance in the first quarter. It reflects the benefit of our diverse operating model,” said George A. Makris, Jr., chairman and CEO of Simmons First National Corporation. “We are still feeling the effects of COVID in the economy. Some industries are still struggling to return to pre-COVID levels of performance and the government’s economic stimulus packages have created a rapid rise in liquidity. Loan demand has been well below historical levels, but we are encouraged by the rebuilding of the pipeline during the first quarter. Asset quality has improved as compared to 2020 and we are optimistic that trend will continue. Based on our current levels of capital and liquidity, we have lending capacity that we have not seen in several years, so Simmons is poised to do our part as the economy continues to return to normal.”
Simmons First National shares have climbed 35% since the beginning of the year. The stock has increased 63% in the last 12 months.
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This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on SFNC at https://www.zacks.com/ap/SFNC