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

Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in shares of The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS - Free Report) by 1,454.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 619,730 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 579,851 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc. owned about 1.99% of First Bancshares worth $19,912,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in First Bancshares during the second quarter valued at $36,000. CWM LLC grew its stake in First Bancshares by 3,387.8% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,709 shares of the bank's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 1,660 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in First Bancshares in the second quarter worth approximately $89,000. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in First Bancshares in the third quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System bought a new position in shares of First Bancshares during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $216,000. 69.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

First Bancshares Stock Up 0.6 %

FBMS traded up $0.24 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $37.99. 6,797 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 188,853. The First Bancshares, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $22.96 and a fifty-two week high of $39.08. The stock has a market cap of $1.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.17 and a beta of 0.91. The business's 50 day moving average is $33.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.27. 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 Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.63%. First Bancshares's payout ratio is 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.