First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) Issues Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.02 EPS

First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The bank reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.02, Zacks reports. First Bancshares had a net margin of 20.00% and a return on equity of 9.73%. The company had revenue of $104.35 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $70.40 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.85 EPS.

First Bancshares Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FBMS traded up $0.67 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $30.26. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 304,956 shares, compared to its average volume of 161,312. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $25.75 and a 200-day moving average of $25.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $944.72 million, a P/E ratio of 12.01 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. First Bancshares has a 12-month low of $22.96 and a 12-month high of $32.06.

First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 8th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 8th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.30%. First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on FBMS. Hovde Group decreased their price objective on shares of First Bancshares from $29.50 to $28.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of First Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.00.

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.