StockNews.com Begins Coverage on First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS)

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) in a report published on Tuesday. The brokerage issued a sell rating on the bank’s stock.

FBMS has been the subject of several other research reports. Hovde Group raised their target price on First Bancshares from $29.00 to $32.50 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised First Bancshares from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $31.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, First Bancshares has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $35.50.

First Bancshares Stock Down 0.1 %

NASDAQ FBMS opened at $31.11 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $31.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company has a market cap of $971.22 million, a P/E ratio of 12.35 and a beta of 0.93. First Bancshares has a one year low of $22.96 and a one year high of $34.40.

First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.02. First Bancshares had a net margin of 18.71% and a return on equity of 8.82%. The business had revenue of $104.35 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $70.40 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.85 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that First Bancshares will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 8th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 8th. First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.68%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Bancshares

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in First Bancshares in the second quarter valued at $36,000. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Bancshares by 3,387.8% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,709 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 1,660 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth about $87,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in First Bancshares during the 1st quarter worth approximately $103,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP raised its stake in First Bancshares by 652.7% in 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 in the last quarter. 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.