First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) Raised to Hold at StockNews.com

First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. TheStreet downgraded First Bancshares from a "b-" rating to a "c+" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Hovde Group reduced their target price on shares of First Bancshares from $29.50 to $28.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, First Bancshares currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $31.00.

First Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of First Bancshares stock traded up $0.43 on Friday, hitting $25.35. The company's stock had a trading volume of 180,304 shares, compared to its average volume of 161,999. The company has a market capitalization of $791.43 million, a P/E ratio of 10.06 and a beta of 0.90. First Bancshares has a 52-week low of $22.96 and a 52-week high of $32.06. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $24.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $25.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 29th. The bank reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.05. First Bancshares had a net margin of 20.00% and a return on equity of 9.73%. The business had revenue of $104.34 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $69.30 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.86 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that First Bancshares will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in First Bancshares by 69.9% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 16,849 shares of the bank's stock valued at $454,000 after purchasing an additional 6,934 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of First Bancshares by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 134,660 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,632,000 after buying an additional 904 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of First Bancshares by 49.0% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 12,203 shares of the bank's stock worth $329,000 after buying an additional 4,014 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in First Bancshares in the third quarter valued at $59,000. Finally, Amalgamated Bank grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 436 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.95% of the company's stock.

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.

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