Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP – Get Free Report) and Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC – Get Free Report) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, dividends, risk, valuation, profitability and analyst recommendations.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Popular and Simmons First National, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Popular | 0 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 2.82 |
| Simmons First National | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2.63 |
Popular currently has a consensus price target of $137.00, suggesting a potential upside of 6.33%. Simmons First National has a consensus price target of $22.33, suggesting a potential upside of 15.84%. Given Simmons First National’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Simmons First National is more favorable than Popular.
Profitability
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Popular | 17.63% | 13.27% | 1.04% |
| Simmons First National | -29.70% | 5.84% | 0.78% |
Insider & Institutional Ownership
87.3% of Popular shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 27.6% of Simmons First National shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.1% of Popular shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.4% of Simmons First National shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares Popular and Simmons First National”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Popular | $4.33 billion | 1.98 | $614.21 million | $11.30 | 11.40 |
| Simmons First National | $1.46 billion | 1.91 | $152.69 million | ($2.93) | -6.58 |
Popular has higher revenue and earnings than Simmons First National. Simmons First National is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Popular, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Volatility & Risk
Popular has a beta of 0.63, indicating that its share price is 37% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Simmons First National has a beta of 0.89, indicating that its share price is 11% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Dividends
Popular pays an annual dividend of $3.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. Simmons First National pays an annual dividend of $0.85 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.4%. Popular pays out 26.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Simmons First National pays out -29.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Popular has raised its dividend for 6 consecutive years and Simmons First National has raised its dividend for 14 consecutive years. Simmons First National is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.
Summary
Popular beats Simmons First National on 12 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Popular
Popular, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides various retail, mortgage, and commercial banking products and services in Puerto Rico, the United States, and the British Virgin Islands. The company provides savings, NOW, money market, and other interest-bearing demand accounts; non-interest bearing demand deposits; and certificates of deposit. It also offers commercial and industrial, commercial multi-family, commercial real estate, and residential mortgage loans; consumer loans, including personal loans, credit cards, automobile loans, home equity lines of credit, and other loans to individual borrowers; construction loans; and lease financing comprising automobile loans/leases. In addition, the company provides investment banking, auto and equipment leasing and financing, broker-dealer, and insurance services; debit cards; and online banking services. Popular, Inc. was founded in 1893 and is headquartered in Hato Rey, Puerto Rico.
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. It also provides ATM services; Internet and mobile banking platforms; overdraft facilities; and safe deposit boxes. The company was founded in 1903 and is headquartered in Pine Bluff, Arkansas.
Receive News & Ratings for Popular Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Popular and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
