First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) Now Covered by Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) in a report released on Wednesday morning. The firm issued a sell rating on the bank’s stock.

FBMS has been the topic of several other reports. Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded shares of First Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of 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. Finally, Hovde Group raised their price objective on shares of First Bancshares from $29.00 to $32.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $35.50.

First Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FBMS opened at $36.55 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $32.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.56. First Bancshares has a 12 month low of $22.96 and a 12 month high of $38.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.54 and a beta of 0.91.

First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.25%.

Institutional Trading of First Bancshares

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in First Bancshares during the second quarter worth about $36,000. CWM LLC raised its position in First Bancshares by 3,387.8% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,709 shares of the bank’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 1,660 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in First Bancshares by 50.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,194 shares of the bank’s stock worth $103,000 after acquiring an additional 1,076 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in First Bancshares during the second quarter worth about $89,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in First Bancshares during the first quarter worth about $103,000. 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.