The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the four ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $31.00.

FBMS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Hovde Group decreased their target price on shares of First Bancshares from $29.50 to $28.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of First Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th.

First Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of FBMS opened at $25.56 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $24.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.52. The company has a market capitalization of $797.98 million, a P/E ratio of 10.14 and a beta of 0.93. First Bancshares has a fifty-two week low of $22.96 and a fifty-two week high of $32.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81.

First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The bank reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.05. First Bancshares had a return on equity of 9.73% and a net margin of 20.00%. The firm had revenue of $104.34 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $69.30 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.86 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that First Bancshares will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current year.

First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 6th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.91%. First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.68%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Bancshares in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $87,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in First Bancshares in the 1st quarter valued at $103,000. Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its holdings in First Bancshares by 652.7% in the 1st quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 7,474 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $194,000 after purchasing an additional 6,481 shares in the last quarter. ELCO Management Co. LLC acquired a new stake in First Bancshares during the 3rd quarter worth $201,000. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Bancshares during the first quarter worth $202,000. 69.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.