Raymond James & Associates Sells 1,300 Shares of The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS)

Raymond James & Associates trimmed its stake in shares of The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS) by 7.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,549 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 1,300 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates owned about 0.05% of First Bancshares worth $456,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of First Bancshares in the third quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Amalgamated Bank increased its stake in shares of First Bancshares by 17.2% during the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 2,966 shares of the bank’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 436 shares during the last quarter. ELCO Management Co. LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Bancshares in the 3rd quarter valued at about $201,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in First Bancshares in the 4th quarter valued at about $209,000. Finally, Alps Advisors Inc. bought a new position in First Bancshares during the third quarter worth about $327,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.95% of the company’s stock.

First Bancshares Trading Down 4.6 %

FBMS opened at $23.90 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $746.16 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.48 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The First Bancshares, Inc. has a twelve month low of $22.82 and a twelve month high of $32.06. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.99.

First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The bank reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $60.01 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $72.10 million. First Bancshares had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 20.00%. Analysts predict that The First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 6th. First Bancshares’s payout ratio is presently 39.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $28.00 target price on shares of First Bancshares in a report on Friday, January 26th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $34.00 price objective on shares of First Bancshares in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. StockNews.com cut shares of First Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, April 13th. Finally, TheStreet cut First Bancshares from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.00.

First Bancshares Profile

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.