First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) Sets New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS) shares reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday after Hovde Group raised their price target on the stock from $29.00 to $32.50. Hovde Group currently has a market perform rating on the stock. First Bancshares traded as high as $34.00 and last traded at $33.01, with a volume of 204238 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.63.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of First Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of First Bancshares from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.88.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Bancshares

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FBMS. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in First Bancshares by 0.8% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,530,263 shares of the bank’s stock worth $41,271,000 after purchasing an additional 12,212 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in First Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth about $209,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in First Bancshares by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 14,102 shares of the bank’s stock worth $414,000 after purchasing an additional 714 shares during the period. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position in First Bancshares by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 30,144 shares of the bank’s stock worth $884,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares during the period. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D boosted its position in First Bancshares by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 97,450 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,858,000 after purchasing an additional 5,444 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.95% of the company’s stock.

First Bancshares Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The stock has a market cap of $1.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.09 and a beta of 0.93. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $25.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.39.

First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.02. First Bancshares had a net margin of 18.71% and a return on equity of 8.90%. The firm had revenue of $104.35 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $70.40 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.85 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that The First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.43 EPS for the current year.

First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 8th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 8th. 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.