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

First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS - Get Free Report) issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday. The bank reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.05, Yahoo Finance reports. First Bancshares had a net margin of 20.00% and a return on equity of 9.85%. The firm had revenue of $104.34 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $69.30 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.86 EPS.

First Bancshares Price Performance

FBMS traded down $0.19 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $23.94. The company's stock had a trading volume of 78,872 shares, compared to its average volume of 160,220. The business's 50-day moving average price is $24.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.95. First Bancshares has a 12 month low of $22.82 and a 12 month high of $32.06. The stock has a market cap of $747.41 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.50 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $28.00 price objective on shares of First Bancshares in a research note on Friday, January 26th. TheStreet downgraded shares of First Bancshares from a "b-" rating to a "c+" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $34.00 price target on shares of First Bancshares in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of First Bancshares from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.