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

The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS) gapped up prior to trading 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 traded.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FBMS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. 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. StockNews.com downgraded First Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $28.00 price objective on shares of First Bancshares in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, TheStreet downgraded First Bancshares from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Bancshares presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.00.

First Bancshares Stock Down 4.6 %

The business has a 50-day moving average of $24.69 and a 200-day moving average of $25.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $746.16 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.48 and a beta of 0.88.

First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) last released its 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 firm had revenue of $60.01 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.10 million. First Bancshares had a net margin of 20.00% and a return on equity of 9.85%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.53 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Bancshares

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. FCG Investment Co acquired a new position in First Bancshares in the 1st quarter valued at about $679,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new position in First Bancshares in the 4th quarter valued at about $226,000. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp acquired a new position in First Bancshares in the 4th quarter valued at about $12,681,000. Petiole USA ltd boosted its stake in shares of First Bancshares by 19.3% in the 4th quarter. Petiole USA ltd now owns 202,145 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,929,000 after buying an additional 32,643 shares during the period. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Bancshares in the 4th quarter valued at about $87,000. 69.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.