1,750,895 Shares in The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS) Acquired by Lord Abbett & CO. LLC

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC bought a new stake in The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,750,895 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $56,256,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC owned about 5.61% of First Bancshares as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of FBMS. Citigroup Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of First Bancshares by 1,454.0% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 619,730 shares of the bank's stock valued at $19,912,000 after acquiring an additional 579,851 shares during the last quarter. Westchester Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in First Bancshares in the third quarter valued at $8,249,000. Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. acquired a new stake in First Bancshares during the 2nd quarter worth about $4,548,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in First Bancshares by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,404,491 shares of the bank's stock worth $36,487,000 after purchasing an additional 91,314 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of First Bancshares by 65.0% during 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.95% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FBMS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on First Bancshares from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on First Bancshares in a research report on Sunday. They issued a "sell" rating on the stock. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott lowered shares of First Bancshares from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $37.17.

First Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of First Bancshares stock traded down $0.12 on Friday, reaching $36.17. The company's stock had a trading volume of 66,128 shares, compared to its average volume of 184,415. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market capitalization of $1.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.37 and a beta of 0.93. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $35.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.41. The First Bancshares, Inc. has a 52-week low of $22.96 and a 52-week high of $39.08.

First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. First Bancshares's dividend payout ratio is presently 45.25%.

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.