First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) Earns Sell Rating from Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) in a research note published on Wednesday morning. The brokerage issued a sell rating on the bank’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of First Bancshares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $31.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. 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. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott cut shares of First Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.50.

First Bancshares Price Performance

FBMS stock opened at $36.33 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.44 and a beta of 0.91. First Bancshares has a fifty-two week low of $22.96 and a fifty-two week high of $38.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $33.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.69.

First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.75%. First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.25%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Bancshares

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of First Bancshares by 49.0% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 21,006 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $540,000 after acquiring an additional 6,904 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP boosted 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. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in First Bancshares by 72.7% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 62,984 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,634,000 after purchasing an additional 26,514 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of First Bancshares by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,626,074 shares of the bank’s stock worth $42,197,000 after buying an additional 59,471 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Bancshares in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $103,000. 69.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.