The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS) Position Boosted by Fmr LLC

Fmr LLC grew its holdings in The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS) by 50.8% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,194 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 1,076 shares during the period. Fmr LLC’s holdings in First Bancshares were worth $103,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in First Bancshares by 7.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,404,491 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $36,487,000 after acquiring an additional 91,314 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in First Bancshares by 4.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 898,647 shares of the bank’s stock worth $28,874,000 after buying an additional 37,167 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. increased its position in shares of First Bancshares by 1,454.0% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 619,730 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $19,912,000 after purchasing an additional 579,851 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in First Bancshares by 65.0% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 231,635 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,018,000 after acquiring an additional 91,269 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of First Bancshares by 9.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 190,928 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,960,000 after buying an additional 16,777 shares in the last quarter. 69.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Bancshares Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of FBMS stock opened at $34.57 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. The stock has a market cap of $1.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.64 and a beta of 0.93. The First Bancshares, Inc. has a 52-week low of $22.96 and a 52-week high of $39.08. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $35.51 and its 200-day moving average is $31.78.

First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on FBMS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of First Bancshares from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded First Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on First Bancshares in a research report on Monday. They issued a “sell” rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.17.

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.