The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS) Receives $31.00 Average Target Price from Brokerages

The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the four ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $31.00.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut First Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday. Hovde Group reduced their target price on First Bancshares from $29.50 to $28.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 6th.

First Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of FBMS stock opened at $24.96 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $24.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm has a market cap of $779.25 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.90 and a beta of 0.92. First Bancshares has a 12 month low of $22.96 and a 12 month high of $32.06.

First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The bank reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.05. First Bancshares had a return on equity of 9.73% and a net margin of 20.00%. The firm had revenue of $104.34 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $69.30 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.86 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that First Bancshares will post 2.45 EPS for the current year.

First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 7th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 6th. First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.68%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Bancshares

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Boston Partners acquired a new stake in First Bancshares in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $895,000. Algebris UK Ltd acquired a new position in shares of First Bancshares during the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,492,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of First Bancshares by 80.2% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 17,555 shares of the bank’s stock worth $455,000 after purchasing an additional 7,815 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of First Bancshares by 17.8% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,797 shares of the bank’s stock worth $229,000 after purchasing an additional 1,332 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Bancshares during the 1st quarter worth approximately $202,000. 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.