Royce & Associates LP Cuts Stock Position in The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS)

Royce & Associates LP cut its stake in The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS - Free Report) by 89.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 87,309 shares of the bank's stock after selling 737,576 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP owned about 0.28% of First Bancshares worth $2,805,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Bancshares in the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of First Bancshares by 3,387.8% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,709 shares of the bank's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 1,660 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in First Bancshares during the 2nd quarter valued at about $89,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in First Bancshares during the 1st quarter valued at $103,000. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC purchased a new position in First Bancshares in the 1st quarter worth about $202,000. 69.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First Bancshares Stock Down 0.3 %

First Bancshares stock traded down $0.11 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $36.05. The company's stock had a trading volume of 60,028 shares, compared to its average volume of 191,528. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.31 and a beta of 0.91. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $33.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.93. The First Bancshares, Inc. has a 52-week low of $22.96 and a 52-week high of $38.21.

First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. First Bancshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on FBMS shares. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of First Bancshares in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a "sell" rating on the stock. Hovde Group lifted their price target 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 raised First Bancshares from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $31.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott cut First Bancshares from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Bancshares has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $35.50.

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.