First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) posted its earnings results on Monday. The bank reported $0.65 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $104.34 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $69.30 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.86 EPS.

First Bancshares Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of First Bancshares stock opened at $24.13 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.95. The firm has a market cap of $753.34 million, a PE ratio of 9.58 and a beta of 0.88. First Bancshares has a 1 year low of $22.82 and a 1 year high of $32.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of First Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. TheStreet downgraded shares of First Bancshares from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $34.00 price target on shares of First Bancshares in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $28.00 price objective on shares of First Bancshares in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Bancshares presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.00.

About First Bancshares

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.