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

The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, April 24th, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be paid a dividend of 0.25 per share by the bank on Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 6th.

First Bancshares has raised its dividend 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 dividend payout ratio of 37.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities 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 Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FBMS opened at $25.04 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $24.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $26.01. 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 twelve month low of $22.82 and a twelve month high of $32.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $781.75 million, a PE ratio of 9.94 and a beta of 0.88.

First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The bank reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.70 by ($0.11). First Bancshares had a net margin of 20.00% and a return on equity of 9.85%. The company had revenue of $60.01 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $72.10 million. Equities analysts forecast that First Bancshares will post 2.53 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on FBMS. TheStreet downgraded shares of First Bancshares from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of First Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $28.00 target price on shares of First Bancshares in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $34.00 target price on shares of First Bancshares in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Bancshares has an average rating of “Hold” 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.