First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) Downgraded to Neutral at Janney Montgomery Scott

First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Janney Montgomery Scott from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat reports.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on FBMS. Hovde Group boosted their price objective on shares of First Bancshares from $29.00 to $32.50 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of First Bancshares from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $31.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on First Bancshares in a report on Sunday. They set a "sell" rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, First Bancshares has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $35.50.

First Bancshares Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of FBMS traded down $0.57 on Thursday, reaching $33.22. 141,664 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 195,918. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $32.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.43. First Bancshares has a 12 month low of $22.96 and a 12 month high of $34.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.41 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.02. First Bancshares had a net margin of 18.71% and a return on equity of 8.82%. The company had revenue of $104.35 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $70.40 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.85 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that First Bancshares will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Bancshares

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of First Bancshares during the second quarter worth about $36,000. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of First Bancshares by 3,387.8% in 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 in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Bancshares in the second quarter worth $89,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in First Bancshares in the first quarter valued at $103,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP increased its stake in First Bancshares by 652.7% in the 1st quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 7,474 shares of the bank's stock valued at $194,000 after buying an additional 6,481 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.