Simmons First National (SFNC) Competitors

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) and Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, risk, community ranking, valuation, media sentiment, analyst recommendations, dividends and earnings.

Does the media prefer FFBC or SFNC?

In the previous week, Simmons First National had 6 more articles in the media than First Financial Bancorp.. MarketBeat recorded 12 mentions for Simmons First National and 6 mentions for First Financial Bancorp.. First Financial Bancorp.'s average media sentiment score of 0.72 beat Simmons First National's score of 0.44 indicating that Simmons First National is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
First Financial Bancorp.	1 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Simmons First National	3 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is FFBC or SFNC more profitable?

First Financial Bancorp. has a net margin of 20.74% compared to First Financial Bancorp.'s net margin of 11.97%. Simmons First National's return on equity of 11.22% beat First Financial Bancorp.'s return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Financial Bancorp.	20.74%	11.22%	1.43%
Simmons First National	11.97%	5.94%	0.73%

Do analysts recommend FFBC or SFNC?

First Financial Bancorp. presently has a consensus price target of $24.67, indicating a potential upside of 5.91%. Simmons First National has a consensus price target of $21.00, indicating a potential upside of 16.80%. Given First Financial Bancorp.'s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Simmons First National is more favorable than First Financial Bancorp..

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Financial Bancorp.	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.33
Simmons First National	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00

Do insiders & institutionals believe in FFBC or SFNC?

77.2% of First Financial Bancorp. shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 27.6% of Simmons First National shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.0% of First Financial Bancorp. shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.9% of Simmons First National shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Is FFBC or SFNC a better dividend stock?

First Financial Bancorp. pays an annual dividend of $0.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.0%. Simmons First National pays an annual dividend of $0.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.7%. First Financial Bancorp. pays out 37.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Simmons First National pays out 63.2% 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. Simmons First National has raised its dividend for 13 consecutive years. Simmons First National is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Which has higher earnings & valuation, FFBC or SFNC?

First Financial Bancorp. has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Simmons First National. First Financial Bancorp. is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Simmons First National, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First Financial Bancorp.	$1.12B	1.99	$255.86M	$2.48	9.39
Simmons First National	$1.37B	1.65	$175.06M	$1.33	13.52

Which has more risk & volatility, FFBC or SFNC?

First Financial Bancorp. has a beta of 1.04, meaning that its stock price is 4% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Simmons First National has a beta of 0.9, meaning that its stock price is 10% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer FFBC or SFNC?

First Financial Bancorp. received 4 more outperform votes than Simmons First National when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 48.47% of users gave Simmons First National an outperform vote while only 46.59% of users gave First Financial Bancorp. an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
First Financial Bancorp.	Outperform Votes 273 46.59%	Underperform Votes 313 53.41%
Simmons First National	Outperform Votes 269 48.47%	Underperform Votes 286 51.53%

Summary

First Financial Bancorp. beats Simmons First National on 13 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks.