First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) Coverage Initiated at StockNews.com

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) in a report published on Monday. The firm issued a sell rating on the bank’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on FBMS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on First Bancshares from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded First Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, First Bancshares has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $38.75.

First Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of FBMS stock opened at $37.05 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $36.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.55. The company has a market cap of $1.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.18 and a beta of 0.94. First Bancshares has a 12 month low of $22.96 and a 12 month high of $39.21.

First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.70%. First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.98%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Bancshares

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Bancshares in the 3rd quarter valued at $56,256,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of First Bancshares by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,598,088 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $55,933,000 after buying an additional 74,483 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in shares of First Bancshares by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,030,933 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $36,083,000 after buying an additional 27,548 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of First Bancshares by 3.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 971,246 shares of the bank’s stock worth $31,206,000 after buying an additional 28,215 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of First Bancshares by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 967,043 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,847,000 after buying an additional 68,396 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.