First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) Shares Gap Up Following Dividend Announcement

The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS) shares gapped up before the market opened on Thursday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock had previously closed at $25.28, but opened at $25.99. First Bancshares shares last traded at $25.20, with a volume of 8,282 shares changing hands.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.18%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 6th. First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FBMS has been the topic of several research reports. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $34.00 target price on shares of First Bancshares in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. 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. TheStreet cut shares of First Bancshares from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of First Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.00.

First Bancshares Stock Down 4.6 %

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $24.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.99. The firm has a market cap of $746.16 million, a PE ratio of 9.48 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 (NASDAQ:FBMS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The bank reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.70 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $60.01 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $72.10 million. First Bancshares had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 20.00%. On average, equities research analysts expect that The First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of First Bancshares

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of First Bancshares during the 3rd quarter valued at $59,000. Amalgamated Bank raised its position in shares of First Bancshares by 17.2% during the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 2,966 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 436 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Bancshares during the 4th quarter valued at $87,000. ELCO Management Co. LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Bancshares during the 3rd quarter valued at $201,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Bancshares during the 4th quarter valued at $209,000. 69.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.