StockNews.com Begins Coverage on First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS)

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) in a research report sent to investors on Sunday morning. The brokerage issued a sell rating on the bank’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on FBMS. Janney Montgomery Scott lowered First Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on First Bancshares from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.17.

First Bancshares Price Performance

FBMS stock opened at $36.17 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.37 and a beta of 0.93. 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 simple moving average of $35.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.41. First Bancshares has a 1 year low of $22.96 and a 1 year high of $39.08.

First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.25%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Bancshares

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in First Bancshares by 4.6% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 19,503 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $499,000 after buying an additional 861 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its stake in First Bancshares by 50.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,194 shares of the bank’s stock worth $103,000 after purchasing an additional 1,076 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its holdings in First Bancshares by 73.2% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,960 shares of the bank’s stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 1,251 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in First Bancshares by 1.8% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 72,262 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,877,000 after buying an additional 1,300 shares during the period. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Bancshares during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. 69.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.