First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) Coverage Initiated at StockNews.com

Analysts at StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday. The brokerage set a “sell” rating on the bank’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on First Bancshares from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded First Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Bancshares presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.17.

First Bancshares Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of FBMS stock opened at $34.24 on Wednesday. First Bancshares has a fifty-two week low of $22.96 and a fifty-two week high of $39.08. 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 50 day simple moving average of $35.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.71. The company has a market cap of $1.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.49 and a beta of 0.93.

Institutional Trading of First Bancshares

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FBMS. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in First Bancshares by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 19,503 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $499,000 after buying an additional 861 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in First Bancshares by 50.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,194 shares of the bank’s stock worth $103,000 after acquiring an additional 1,076 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its stake in First Bancshares by 73.2% in the 3rd 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. boosted its holdings in First Bancshares by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 72,262 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,877,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the period. Finally, Centiva Capital LP grew its position in shares of First Bancshares by 17.8% during the 3rd quarter. Centiva Capital LP now owns 9,767 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $314,000 after purchasing an additional 1,476 shares in the last quarter. 69.95% of the stock is currently 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.