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

StockNews.com cut shares of First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Wednesday morning.

FBMS has been the topic of several other research reports. Hovde Group increased 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 increased their target price on First Bancshares from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $35.13.

First Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of First Bancshares stock opened at $32.25 on Wednesday. First Bancshares has a 52 week low of $22.96 and a 52 week high of $34.40. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $26.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.56. The firm has a market cap of $1.01 billion, a PE ratio of 12.80 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.02. First Bancshares had a return on equity of 8.90% and a net margin of 18.71%. The business had revenue of $104.35 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $70.40 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.85 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that First Bancshares will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current year.

First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 8th will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 8th. First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.68%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Bancshares

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Petiole USA ltd raised its position in First Bancshares by 19.3% in the 4th quarter. Petiole USA ltd now owns 202,145 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,929,000 after purchasing an additional 32,643 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in First Bancshares by 72.7% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 62,984 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,634,000 after purchasing an additional 26,514 shares in the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new stake in First Bancshares in the 1st quarter valued at about $463,000. Steele Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of First Bancshares in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,788,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of First Bancshares by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 74,679 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,190,000 after acquiring an additional 3,073 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.95% of the company’s stock.

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.