First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.05 EPS

First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) issued its earnings results on Monday. The bank reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.05, Yahoo Finance reports. The business had revenue of $104.34 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $69.30 million. First Bancshares had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 20.00%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.86 EPS.

First Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of First Bancshares stock opened at $23.94 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $747.41 million, a PE ratio of 9.50 and a beta of 0.88. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. First Bancshares has a 12 month low of $22.82 and a 12 month high of $32.06.

First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 6th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.18%. First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $28.00 target price on shares of First Bancshares in a report on Friday, January 26th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $34.00 target price on shares of First Bancshares in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. TheStreet cut First Bancshares from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, StockNews.com raised First Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, First Bancshares currently 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.