First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) Shares Up 4.1% – Here’s What Happened

The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS)’s share price were up 4.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $33.68 and last traded at $33.68. Approximately 33,662 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 195,546 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.36.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on FBMS shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of First Bancshares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $31.00 to $40.00 in a report on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of First Bancshares in a research note on Sunday. They set a “sell” rating on the stock. Finally, Hovde Group upped their target price on shares of First Bancshares from $29.00 to $32.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $35.50.

First Bancshares Stock Up 3.9 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.83 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $32.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $104.35 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $70.40 million. First Bancshares had a net margin of 18.71% and a return on equity of 8.82%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.85 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that The First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of First Bancshares

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of First Bancshares in the fourth quarter valued at $226,000. FCG Investment Co bought a new stake in First Bancshares in the first quarter worth about $679,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of First Bancshares by 49.0% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 21,006 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $540,000 after buying an additional 6,904 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP boosted its position in shares of First Bancshares by 47.0% during the first quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 24,549 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $637,000 after buying an additional 7,846 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP raised its holdings in shares of First Bancshares by 652.7% in the first quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 7,474 shares of the bank’s stock worth $194,000 after buying an additional 6,481 shares during the period. 69.95% of the stock is currently owned by 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.