First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) released its earnings results on Monday. The bank reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $104.34 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $69.30 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.86 EPS.

First Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FBMS opened at $24.13 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.95. First Bancshares has a 52 week low of $22.82 and a 52 week high of $32.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $753.34 million, a P/E ratio of 9.58 and a beta of 0.88.

First Bancshares Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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