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 published on Thursday morning. The firm issued a sell rating on the bank’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on FBMS. Janney Montgomery Scott cut First Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Hovde Group raised their target price on shares of First Bancshares from $29.00 to $32.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded First Bancshares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $31.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $35.50.

First Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of FBMS stock opened at $37.65 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.04 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. First Bancshares has a one year low of $22.96 and a one year high of $38.21. The company’s 50-day moving average is $33.64 and its 200 day moving average is $30.18.

First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.66%. First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.25%.

Institutional Trading of First Bancshares

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FBMS. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in First Bancshares by 3.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,626,074 shares of the bank’s stock worth $42,197,000 after purchasing an additional 59,471 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of First Bancshares by 7.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,404,491 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $36,487,000 after purchasing an additional 91,314 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of First Bancshares by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 971,246 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $31,206,000 after acquiring an additional 28,215 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of First Bancshares by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 898,647 shares of the bank’s stock worth $28,874,000 after buying an additional 37,167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of First Bancshares by 1.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 675,448 shares of the bank’s stock worth $21,706,000 after purchasing an additional 12,567 shares in the last quarter. 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.