Centiva Capital LP Buys 1,476 Shares of The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS)

Centiva Capital LP boosted its stake in The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS) by 17.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,767 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,476 shares during the quarter. Centiva Capital LP’s holdings in First Bancshares were worth $314,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FBMS. Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in First Bancshares by 1,454.0% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 619,730 shares of the bank’s stock worth $19,912,000 after purchasing an additional 579,851 shares during the period. Westchester Capital Management LLC bought a new position in First Bancshares in the 3rd quarter worth about $8,249,000. Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. bought a new position in First Bancshares in the 2nd quarter worth about $4,548,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in First Bancshares by 7.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,404,491 shares of the bank’s stock worth $36,487,000 after purchasing an additional 91,314 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in First Bancshares by 65.0% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 231,635 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,018,000 after purchasing an additional 91,269 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.95% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on First Bancshares from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on First Bancshares in a report on Saturday. They issued a “sell” rating on the stock. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott cut First Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a 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 issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.17.

First Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FBMS opened at $36.63 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.57 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The First Bancshares, Inc. has a 1-year low of $22.96 and a 1-year high of $39.08. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $34.83 and its 200 day moving average is $31.17.

First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.73%. First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is 45.25%.

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.