First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) issued its earnings results on Monday. The bank reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.05, Yahoo Finance reports. First Bancshares had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 20.00%. The business had revenue of $104.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $69.30 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.86 EPS.

First Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of FBMS stock opened at $24.15 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $753.96 million, a P/E ratio of 9.58 and a beta of 0.90. First Bancshares has a fifty-two week low of $22.82 and a fifty-two week high of $32.06. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $24.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85.

First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 6th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.14%. First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FBMS has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded First Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. TheStreet cut First Bancshares from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $28.00 price target on shares of First Bancshares in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $34.00 price target on shares of First Bancshares in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.00.

First Bancshares Company Profile

The First Bancshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for The First Bank that provides general commercial and retail banking services. The company operates through three segments: Commercial/Retail Bank, Mortgage Banking Division, and Holding Company. It offers deposit services, including checking, NOW, and savings accounts; other time deposits, such as daily money market accounts and longer-term certificates of deposit; and individual retirement and health savings accounts.