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

The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, October 23rd, NASDAQ reports. Investors 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 yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th.

First Bancshares has increased its dividend payment by an average of 28.9% per year over the last three years.

First Bancshares Trading Down 1.7 %

First Bancshares stock opened at $33.23 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a PE ratio of 13.19 and a beta of 0.92. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $32.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.47. First Bancshares has a 12 month low of $22.96 and a 12 month high of $34.40.

First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.63 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $104.35 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $70.40 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.85 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that First Bancshares will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FBMS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised First Bancshares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $31.00 to $40.00 in a report on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com assumed coverage on First Bancshares in a research note on Sunday, October 20th. They set a “sell” rating for the company. Janney Montgomery Scott cut shares of First Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Hovde Group boosted their price target on shares of First Bancshares from $29.00 to $32.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.