ABC Arbitrage SA Buys Shares of 129,807 The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS)

ABC Arbitrage SA bought a new stake in shares of The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 129,807 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $4,543,000. ABC Arbitrage SA owned about 0.42% of First Bancshares as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of FBMS. Principal Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in First Bancshares during the 3rd quarter worth $846,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in First Bancshares by 5.9% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 475,014 shares of the bank's stock worth $15,262,000 after purchasing an additional 26,349 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in First Bancshares by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 971,246 shares of the bank's stock worth $31,206,000 after purchasing an additional 28,215 shares in the last quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in First Bancshares in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,054,000. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of First Bancshares by 48.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 86,748 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,787,000 after buying an additional 28,184 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.95% of the company's stock.

First Bancshares Stock Performance

First Bancshares stock traded down $0.60 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $37.05. The stock had a trading volume of 99,093 shares, compared to its average volume of 139,978. 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 stock's 50 day moving average is $36.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.55. The First Bancshares, Inc. has a 1 year low of $22.96 and a 1 year high of $39.21. The stock has a market cap of $1.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.18 and a beta of 0.94.

First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. First Bancshares's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FBMS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded First Bancshares from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on First Bancshares from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of First Bancshares in a report on Monday. They issued a "sell" rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $38.75.

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.