StockNews.com Downgrades First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) to Sell

StockNews.com lowered shares of First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note published on Thursday morning.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on FBMS. TheStreet downgraded shares of First Bancshares from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Hovde Group reduced their price objective on shares of First Bancshares from $29.50 to $28.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 6th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $31.00.

First Bancshares Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FBMS opened at $25.98 on Thursday. First Bancshares has a 12 month low of $22.96 and a 12 month high of $32.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $811.10 million, a PE ratio of 10.31 and a beta of 0.92. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $24.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $25.54.

First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 29th. The bank reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $104.34 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $69.30 million. First Bancshares had a return on equity of 9.73% and a net margin of 20.00%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.86 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that First Bancshares will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.85%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 6th. First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.68%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Bancshares

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of FBMS. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in First Bancshares in the fourth quarter worth $87,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in First Bancshares in the 1st quarter worth about $103,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Bancshares in the 4th quarter worth about $209,000. ELCO Management Co. LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Bancshares during the 3rd quarter valued at about $201,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP raised its holdings in shares of First Bancshares by 652.7% during the 1st 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.95% of the company’s stock.

First Bancshares Company 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.