First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at StockNews.com

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

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of First Bancshares from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.75.

First Bancshares Stock Performance

FBMS stock opened at $35.72 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.64 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $34.70. First Bancshares has a fifty-two week low of $22.96 and a fifty-two week high of $39.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.80%. First Bancshares’s payout ratio is presently 40.98%.

Institutional Trading of First Bancshares

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FBMS. Vestcor Inc acquired a new position in shares of First Bancshares in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of First Bancshares in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of First Bancshares by 864.4% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 974 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 873 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in shares of First Bancshares by 26.0% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,102 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $109,000 after purchasing an additional 641 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC grew its position in First Bancshares by 50.8% during the 3rd 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.