The First Bancshares, Inc. Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.25 (NASDAQ:FBMS)

The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, January 29th,Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a dividend of 0.25 per share by the bank on Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th.

First Bancshares has increased its dividend payment by an average of 28.9% annually over the last three years.

First Bancshares Stock Up 1.3 %

First Bancshares stock traded up $0.47 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $37.52. The company had a trading volume of 168,241 shares, compared to its average volume of 134,370. The stock has a market cap of $1.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.98 and a beta of 0.94. First Bancshares has a 1 year low of $22.96 and a 1 year high of $39.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The business has a fifty day moving average of $35.84 and a 200 day moving average of $33.74.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FBMS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of First Bancshares in a research note on Friday, January 24th. 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 report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of First Bancshares from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $38.75.

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.