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

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) in a report issued on Wednesday morning. The brokerage issued a sell rating on the bank’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of First Bancshares from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded shares of 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 assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.17.

First Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of FBMS opened at $33.21 on Wednesday. First Bancshares has a 52-week low of $22.96 and a 52-week high of $39.08. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $35.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.03 and a beta of 0.93.

First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.25%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Bancshares

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in First Bancshares by 4.6% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 19,503 shares of the bank’s stock worth $499,000 after acquiring an additional 861 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of First Bancshares by 50.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,194 shares of the bank’s stock worth $103,000 after purchasing an additional 1,076 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of First Bancshares by 73.2% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,960 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 1,251 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of First Bancshares by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 72,262 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,877,000 after buying an additional 1,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Centiva Capital LP lifted its position in First Bancshares by 17.8% in the 3rd quarter. Centiva Capital LP now owns 9,767 shares of the bank’s stock worth $314,000 after buying an additional 1,476 shares during the last quarter. 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.