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

The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, October 23rd, NASDAQ reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a dividend of 0.25 per share by the bank on Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th.

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

First Bancshares Stock Down 1.7 %

FBMS traded down $0.56 on Thursday, hitting $33.23. 141,664 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 195,918. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.41 and a beta of 0.92. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $32.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.43. First Bancshares has a twelve month low of $22.96 and a twelve month high of $34.40.

First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.02. First Bancshares had a net margin of 18.71% and a return on equity of 8.82%. The company had revenue of $104.35 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $70.40 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.85 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that First Bancshares will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised First Bancshares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $31.00 to $40.00 in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Hovde Group lifted their target price on shares of First Bancshares from $29.00 to $32.50 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of First Bancshares in a research report on Sunday. They set a “sell” rating on the stock. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott cut First Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $35.50.

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.