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

The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, January 28th,Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of 0.25 per share by the bank on Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th.

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

First Bancshares Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FBMS opened at $38.29 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $36.01 and a 200-day moving average of $34.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.17 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. First Bancshares has a twelve month low of $22.96 and a twelve month high of $39.21.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FBMS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded shares of First Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com started coverage on First Bancshares in a research report on Saturday, February 1st. They set a “sell” rating on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on First Bancshares from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $38.75.

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.