First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) Earns Sell Rating from Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday. The firm issued a sell rating on the bank’s stock.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on First Bancshares from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.75.

First Bancshares Stock Down 0.3 %

First Bancshares stock opened at $35.22 on Tuesday. 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 $1.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.43 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $36.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $34.71. First Bancshares has a 1-year low of $22.96 and a 1-year high of $39.21.

First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.98%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vestcor Inc purchased a new stake in shares of First Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in First Bancshares in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in First Bancshares by 864.4% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 974 shares of the bank’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 873 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in shares of First Bancshares by 26.0% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,102 shares of the bank’s stock worth $109,000 after acquiring an additional 641 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its position in shares of First Bancshares by 50.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,194 shares of the bank’s stock worth $103,000 after acquiring an additional 1,076 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.95% of the company’s stock.

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.