First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

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

First Bancshares Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of FBMS opened at $24.13 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $24.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $753.34 million, a PE ratio of 9.58 and a beta of 0.88. First Bancshares has a 12-month low of $22.82 and a 12-month 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.

First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $34.00 price target on shares of First Bancshares in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. StockNews.com upgraded First Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $28.00 price target on shares of First Bancshares in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, TheStreet cut shares of First Bancshares from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Bancshares currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” 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.