First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) Research Coverage Started at StockNews.com

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday. The brokerage issued a sell rating on the bank’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised First Bancshares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $31.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Janney Montgomery Scott cut First Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Hovde Group boosted their price target on shares of First Bancshares from $29.00 to $32.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, First Bancshares presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.50.

First Bancshares Trading Down 3.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FBMS opened at $36.44 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $32.74 and a 200-day moving average of $29.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market cap of $1.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.49 and a beta of 0.91. First Bancshares has a twelve month low of $22.96 and a twelve month high of $38.12.

First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.74%. First Bancshares’s payout ratio is presently 45.25%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Bancshares in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Bancshares by 3,387.8% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,709 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 1,660 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Bancshares in the second quarter worth $89,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Bancshares during the first quarter valued at $103,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP raised its position in First Bancshares by 652.7% during the first quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 7,474 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $194,000 after buying an additional 6,481 shares during the period. 69.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.