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

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

FBMS has been the subject of a number of other reports. Janney Montgomery Scott lowered shares of First Bancshares from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of First Bancshares from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $31.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Hovde Group upped their price target on shares of First Bancshares from $29.00 to $32.50 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $35.50.

First Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of FBMS opened at $35.89 on Thursday. First Bancshares has a 52-week low of $22.96 and a 52-week high of $38.21. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $33.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.30 and a beta of 0.91.

Institutional Trading of First Bancshares

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in First Bancshares by 4.6% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 19,503 shares of the bank's stock worth $499,000 after purchasing an additional 861 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of First Bancshares by 50.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,194 shares of the bank's stock worth $103,000 after buying an additional 1,076 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of First Bancshares by 73.2% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,960 shares of the bank's stock worth $95,000 after buying an additional 1,251 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in First Bancshares by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 72,262 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,877,000 after buying an additional 1,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in First Bancshares by 17.8% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,797 shares of the bank's stock valued at $229,000 after buying an additional 1,332 shares during the last quarter. 69.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.