First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.02 EPS

First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) announced its earnings results on Wednesday. The bank reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.02, Zacks reports. First Bancshares had a net margin of 18.71% and a return on equity of 8.90%. 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 previous year, the business posted $0.85 earnings per share.

First Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of FBMS traded up $0.38 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $30.64. 71,497 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 160,683. The stock has a market cap of $956.58 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.01 and a beta of 0.93. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $25.75 and a 200-day moving average of $25.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. First Bancshares has a 52 week low of $22.96 and a 52 week high of $32.06.

First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 is Thursday, August 8th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.26%. First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FBMS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of First Bancshares from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Hovde Group cut their price target on First Bancshares from $29.50 to $28.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 6th. Finally, StockNews.com raised First Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.75.

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.