Kennedy Capital Management LLC Has $3.95 Million Stake in The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS)

Kennedy Capital Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS) by 41.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 152,008 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 108,564 shares during the quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC’s holdings in First Bancshares were worth $3,945,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in First Bancshares by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,626,074 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $42,197,000 after purchasing an additional 59,471 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in First Bancshares by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,115,691 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $32,724,000 after purchasing an additional 106,088 shares during the period. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp acquired a new stake in First Bancshares in the 4th quarter valued at $12,681,000. Petiole USA ltd grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 32,643 shares during the period. Finally, Algebris UK Ltd acquired a new stake in First Bancshares in the 1st quarter valued at $3,492,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.95% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on FBMS. StockNews.com raised shares of First Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of First Bancshares from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Hovde Group lifted their price target on shares of First Bancshares from $29.00 to $32.50 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First Bancshares presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.88.

First Bancshares Stock Up 8.7 %

NASDAQ:FBMS traded up $2.66 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $33.29. 2,492,231 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 178,220. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $25.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.39. The First Bancshares, Inc. has a one year low of $22.96 and a one year high of $34.00. The company has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a PE ratio of 13.10 and a beta of 0.93.

First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $104.35 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $70.40 million. First Bancshares had a return on equity of 8.90% and a net margin of 18.71%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.85 EPS. Equities analysts predict that The First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current year.

First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 8th. First Bancshares’s payout ratio is 39.68%.

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.