Wolverine Asset Management LLC Grows Stake in The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS)

Wolverine Asset Management LLC increased its stake in The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS - Free Report) by 44.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 47,367 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 14,567 shares during the quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.15% of First Bancshares worth $1,658,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in First Bancshares by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 28,944 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,013,000 after buying an additional 2,624 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in First Bancshares in the 4th quarter worth $6,296,000. ABC Arbitrage SA purchased a new stake in First Bancshares in the 4th quarter worth $4,543,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in First Bancshares by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 97,768 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,422,000 after buying an additional 4,702 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in First Bancshares by 22.7% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 20,553 shares of the bank's stock worth $719,000 after buying an additional 3,802 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.95% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on FBMS. StockNews.com began coverage on First Bancshares in a research note on Monday, February 17th. They issued a "sell" rating for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on First Bancshares from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, First Bancshares currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $38.75.

First Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of First Bancshares stock traded down $0.61 during trading on Friday, reaching $36.06. 158,634 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 137,519. The company has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.78 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.60. 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 First Bancshares, Inc. has a 52-week low of $22.96 and a 52-week high of $39.21.

First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.77%. First Bancshares's payout ratio is 40.98%.

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.