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

The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS) shares gapped up prior to trading on Thursday after the company announced a dividend. 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 trading hands.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FBMS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. TheStreet downgraded shares of First Bancshares from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $28.00 price target on shares of First Bancshares in a report on Friday, January 26th. 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. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded 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 given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Bancshares presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.00.

First Bancshares Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $746.16 million, a PE ratio of 9.48 and a beta of 0.88. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $24.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The bank reported $0.59 EPS 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FBMS. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in shares of First Bancshares by 69.9% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 16,849 shares of the bank’s stock worth $454,000 after purchasing an additional 6,934 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of First Bancshares by 0.7% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 134,660 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,632,000 after purchasing an additional 904 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of First Bancshares by 18.6% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 13,388 shares of the bank’s stock worth $361,000 after purchasing an additional 2,102 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of First Bancshares by 49.0% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 12,203 shares of the bank’s stock worth $329,000 after purchasing an additional 4,014 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of First Bancshares in the third quarter worth approximately $59,000. Institutional investors own 69.95% of the company’s stock.

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.