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

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

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target 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.

First Bancshares Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ FBMS opened at $35.07 on Friday. First Bancshares has a 12-month low of $22.96 and a 12-month high of $39.21. The company has a market capitalization of $1.10 billion, a PE ratio of 14.37 and a beta of 0.92. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average is $36.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.91.

Institutional Trading of First Bancshares

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vestcor Inc acquired a new position in shares of First Bancshares in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of First Bancshares in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of First Bancshares by 864.4% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 974 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 873 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in shares of First Bancshares by 26.0% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,102 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $109,000 after buying an additional 641 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its position in shares of First Bancshares by 50.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,194 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $103,000 after buying an additional 1,076 shares during the last quarter. 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.