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

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

First Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FBMS opened at $23.94 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The company has a market cap of $747.41 million, a P/E ratio of 9.50 and a beta of 0.88. First Bancshares has a 52 week low of $22.82 and a 52 week high of $32.06. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $24.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.95.

First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 6th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.18%. First Bancshares’s payout ratio is currently 39.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $34.00 price objective on shares of First Bancshares in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of First Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $28.00 price objective on shares of First Bancshares in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Finally, TheStreet downgraded shares of First Bancshares from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, First Bancshares currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.00.

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.