First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) Shares Up 4.1% After Dividend Announcement

The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS) rose 4.1% on Wednesday following a dividend announcement from the company. The company traded as high as $33.68 and last traded at $33.68. Approximately 33,662 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 195,546 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.36.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. First Bancshares’s payout ratio is 39.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com assumed coverage on First Bancshares in a report on Sunday, October 20th. They issued a “sell” rating on the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott lowered shares of First Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Hovde Group lifted their price objective on shares of First Bancshares from $29.00 to $32.50 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of First Bancshares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $31.00 to $40.00 in a report on Friday, August 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Bancshares currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $35.50.

First Bancshares Stock Down 1.7 %

The firm has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a PE ratio of 13.19 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $32.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.47.

First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.02. First Bancshares had a return on equity of 8.82% and a net margin of 18.71%. The firm had revenue of $104.35 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $70.40 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.85 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that The First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Bancshares

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Bancshares in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Bancshares by 3,387.8% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,709 shares of the bank’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 1,660 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in First Bancshares in the 2nd quarter valued at $89,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in First Bancshares in the first quarter valued at about $103,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its stake in shares of First Bancshares by 652.7% in the first quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 7,474 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $194,000 after buying an additional 6,481 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.95% of the company’s stock.

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.