First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) PT Raised to $32.50

First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) had its target price hoisted by Hovde Group from $29.00 to $32.50 in a report published on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a market perform rating on the bank’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on FBMS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on First Bancshares from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com upgraded First Bancshares from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $32.88.

First Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of FBMS stock opened at $32.14 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.75 and a beta of 0.93. First Bancshares has a one year low of $22.96 and a one year high of $34.40. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $26.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.54.

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

First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 8th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 8th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.11%. First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.68%.

Institutional Trading of First Bancshares

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FBMS. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in First Bancshares during the second quarter worth approximately $36,000. CWM LLC boosted its stake in First Bancshares by 3,387.8% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,709 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 1,660 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in First Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth about $87,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in First Bancshares in the first quarter worth about $103,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in First Bancshares in the 4th quarter valued at about $209,000. 69.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.