The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the four research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $31.00.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on FBMS. StockNews.com upgraded shares of First Bancshares from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday. TheStreet downgraded shares of First Bancshares from a "b-" rating to a "c+" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Hovde Group reduced their price target on shares of First Bancshares from $29.50 to $28.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 6th.

Institutional Trading of First Bancshares

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FBMS. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in First Bancshares during the third quarter worth about $59,000. Amalgamated Bank grew its holdings in shares of First Bancshares by 17.2% during the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 2,966 shares of the bank's stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 436 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth approximately $87,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Bancshares in the 1st quarter worth approximately $103,000. Finally, ELCO Management Co. LLC acquired a new position in First Bancshares during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $201,000. 69.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Bancshares Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ FBMS traded up $0.43 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $25.35. 180,304 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 161,999. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. First Bancshares has a 52-week low of $22.96 and a 52-week high of $32.06. The business's fifty day moving average price is $24.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $791.43 million, a PE ratio of 10.06 and a beta of 0.90.

First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 29th. The bank reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.05. First Bancshares had a return on equity of 9.73% and a net margin of 20.00%. The company had revenue of $104.34 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $69.30 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.86 EPS. Analysts forecast that First Bancshares will post 2.45 EPS for the current year.

First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 6th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.94%. First Bancshares's payout ratio is 39.68%.

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.