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

StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) in a research report report published on Friday. The brokerage issued a sell rating on the bank’s stock.

FBMS has been the topic of several other research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of First Bancshares from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and upped their price target for the stock from $31.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Hovde Group boosted their target price on shares of First Bancshares from $29.00 to $32.50 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Bancshares has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $35.13.

First Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FBMS opened at $31.12 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $27.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.69. First Bancshares has a fifty-two week low of $22.96 and a fifty-two week high of $34.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $971.54 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.35 and a beta of 0.93.

First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $104.35 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $70.40 million. First Bancshares had a net margin of 18.71% and a return on equity of 8.90%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.85 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that First Bancshares will post 2.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 8th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 8th. First Bancshares’s payout ratio is 39.68%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp acquired a new position in First Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth $12,681,000. Algebris UK Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of First Bancshares during the 1st quarter worth about $3,492,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of First Bancshares by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,115,691 shares of the bank’s stock worth $32,724,000 after buying an additional 106,088 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in First Bancshares by 65.0% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 231,635 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,018,000 after buying an additional 91,269 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Steele Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in First Bancshares in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,788,000. 69.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.