Morris State Bancshares Inc. (OTC: MBLU) Stock On Radar After Quarterly Earnings

Yesterday, Morris State Bancshares Inc. (OTC: MBLU), the holding company of Morris Bank, was in focus after it announced its financial results for the quarter ended on September 30, 2024. It could be a good time to take a closer look into it.

The Numbers

Morris State Bancshares reported net income to the tune of $5.4 million in the quarter, which worked out to an improvement of 2.4% from the $5.3 million worth of net income in the previous quarter. On a year-on-year basis, the net income improved by 21.33% from the net income of $4.5 million reported in the corresponding quarter in 2023.

The growth in net income was a function of steady growth in loans, a rise in non-interest-carrying deposits, and stabilization in the cost of funds, the company noted in the news release.

Further Information

Morris State Bancshares recorded a net interest margin of 4.1% in the quarter as opposed to 4.02% in the previous quarter and 3.925 in the prior year quarter. Although the total deposits declined by 1.37% to $16.6 million, the non-interest-carrying deposits went up by 7.19% to $24 million in the quarter.

Dividends

In this context, it should also be noted that on October 16, the board of directors at Morris State Bancshares approved a fourth quarter dividend of $.0092 a share, which would be paid out to all shareholders of record as of November 15, 2024, at around December 15, 2024.

Key Quote

“We had a solid third quarter. Our core earnings engine remains strong, as reflected by the growth in our net interest income. In the third quarter, we generated net interest income of $14.0 million, which was $428 thousand above the June 30, 2024, level of $13.6 million and $1.1 million above the September 30, 2023 level of $12.9 million,” said Spence Mullis, Chairman and CEO. “The Federal Reserve’s reduction in the Fed funds rate, combined with robust growth in noninterest-bearing balances, has contributed to stabilizing our cost of funds. Despite continued payoffs of larger loans, we continue to fund a good volume of new loans and previously unfunded commitments, driving our loan balances slightly higher.”