Analysts Set The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS) Target Price at $35.50

Shares of The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the four brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $35.50.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Hovde Group upped their target price on First Bancshares from $29.00 to $32.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Janney Montgomery Scott lowered First Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of First Bancshares in a research report on Sunday, October 20th. They set a “sell” rating for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of First Bancshares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $31.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Friday, August 2nd.

First Bancshares Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of First Bancshares stock opened at $32.99 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.80 and a beta of 0.92. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $32.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.55. First Bancshares has a 1-year low of $22.96 and a 1-year high of $34.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) last issued its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $104.35 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 prior year, the business posted $0.85 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that First Bancshares will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. First Bancshares’s payout ratio is 41.84%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Bancshares

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Bancshares in the second quarter worth $36,000. CWM LLC lifted its stake in First Bancshares by 3,387.8% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,709 shares of the bank’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 1,660 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in First Bancshares during the 2nd quarter worth about $89,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in First Bancshares during the 1st quarter valued at about $103,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP increased its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. 69.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.