First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) Now Covered by Analysts at StockNews.com

Analysts at StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) in a research report issued on Friday. The firm set a “sell” rating on the bank’s stock.

FBMS has been the subject of several other research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded 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 research note on Friday, August 2nd. Janney Montgomery Scott lowered First Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Bancshares has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $35.50.

First Bancshares Price Performance

NASDAQ:FBMS opened at $37.14 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $34.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $30.53. First Bancshares has a 1-year low of $22.96 and a 1-year high of $39.08. The firm has a market cap of $1.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.81 and a beta of 0.91.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Bancshares

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of FBMS. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of First Bancshares by 3.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,626,074 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $42,197,000 after purchasing an additional 59,471 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in First Bancshares by 7.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,404,491 shares of the bank’s stock worth $36,487,000 after acquiring an additional 91,314 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in First Bancshares by 3.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 971,246 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $31,206,000 after purchasing an additional 28,215 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of First Bancshares by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 898,647 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $28,874,000 after purchasing an additional 37,167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Bancshares by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 675,448 shares of the bank’s stock worth $21,706,000 after purchasing an additional 12,567 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.