First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) Now Covered by Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS - Free Report) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning. The brokerage issued a sell rating on the bank's stock.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of First Bancshares from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Janney Montgomery Scott cut First Bancshares from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $37.17.

First Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FBMS traded down $0.31 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $35.20. The stock had a trading volume of 79,632 shares, compared to its average volume of 120,843. 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 has a 1 year low of $22.96 and a 1 year high of $39.08. The company has a market capitalization of $1.10 billion, a PE ratio of 15.93 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $33.03.

First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. First Bancshares's payout ratio is currently 45.25%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Bancshares

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of First Bancshares by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 475,014 shares of the bank's stock worth $15,262,000 after buying an additional 26,349 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of First Bancshares in the 3rd quarter valued at about $846,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Bancshares in the 3rd quarter valued at about $56,256,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in First Bancshares by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 675,448 shares of the bank's stock worth $21,706,000 after buying an additional 12,567 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its stake in First Bancshares by 48.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 86,748 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,787,000 after buying an additional 28,184 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.95% of the company's stock.

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.