Citigroup Inc. Acquires 579,851 Shares of The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS)

Citigroup Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS) by 1,454.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 619,730 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 579,851 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in First Bancshares were worth $19,912,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. bought a new position in First Bancshares in the 2nd quarter worth $4,548,000. Algebris UK Ltd purchased a new position in shares of First Bancshares during the first quarter valued at about $3,492,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised 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 worth $36,487,000 after buying an additional 91,314 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in First Bancshares by 65.0% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 231,635 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,018,000 after buying an additional 91,269 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Planning boosted its position in First Bancshares by 310.0% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 91,591 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,380,000 after acquiring an additional 69,254 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.95% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on FBMS. StockNews.com started coverage on First Bancshares in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. They issued a “sell” rating for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised First Bancshares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $31.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded shares of First Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $35.50.

First Bancshares Stock Down 1.2 %

FBMS stock opened at $37.75 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $33.76 and a 200 day moving average of $30.27. The firm has a market cap of $1.18 billion, a PE ratio of 17.08 and a beta of 0.91. The First Bancshares, Inc. has a twelve month low of $22.96 and a twelve month high of $39.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.25%.

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.