The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS) to Issue $0.25 Quarterly Dividend

The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, July 24th, NASDAQ reports. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 8th will be given a dividend of 0.25 per share by the bank on Friday, August 23rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 8th.

First Bancshares has increased its dividend payment by an average of 28.9% annually over the last three years.

First Bancshares Stock Up 1.3 %

First Bancshares stock opened at $31.94 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $997.13 million, a P/E ratio of 12.67 and a beta of 0.93. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $26.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. First Bancshares has a 1-year low of $22.96 and a 1-year high of $34.40.

First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $104.35 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $70.40 million. First Bancshares had a net margin of 18.71% and a return on equity of 8.90%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.85 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that First Bancshares will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FBMS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of First Bancshares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $31.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of First Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Hovde Group raised their price target on shares of First Bancshares from $29.00 to $32.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $35.13.

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.