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

The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, April 24th, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be given a dividend of 0.25 per share by the bank on Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.98%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 6th.

First Bancshares has increased its dividend payment by an average of 28.9% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 7 consecutive years. First Bancshares has a payout ratio of 37.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect First Bancshares to earn $2.68 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 37.3%.

First Bancshares Trading Up 0.3 %

First Bancshares stock traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $25.11. 7,752 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 160,327. First Bancshares has a fifty-two week low of $22.82 and a fifty-two week high of $32.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $783.93 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.94 and a beta of 0.88. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $24.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The bank reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($0.11). First Bancshares had a net margin of 20.00% and a return on equity of 9.85%. The business had revenue of $60.01 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.10 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that First Bancshares will post 2.53 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on FBMS. TheStreet cut shares of First Bancshares from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $28.00 target price on shares of First Bancshares in a research report on Friday, January 26th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of First Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 13th. Finally, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $34.00 price objective on shares of First Bancshares in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Bancshares presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.