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

The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, April 24th, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be given a dividend of 0.25 per share by the bank on Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 6th.

First Bancshares has increased its dividend payment by an average of 28.9% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 7 consecutive years. First Bancshares has a payout ratio of 37.6% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect First Bancshares to earn $2.68 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 37.3%.

First Bancshares Stock Up 1.2 %

FBMS stock opened at $24.77 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market cap of $773.32 million, a PE ratio of 9.83 and a beta of 0.90. First Bancshares has a 1 year low of $22.82 and a 1 year high of $32.06. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.89.

First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The bank reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.05. 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 the consensus estimate of $69.30 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.86 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that First Bancshares will post 2.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on FBMS shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $28.00 price objective on shares of First Bancshares in a report on Friday, January 26th. StockNews.com raised First Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. TheStreet cut First Bancshares from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $34.00 target price on shares of First Bancshares in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, First Bancshares has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.