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

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

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

First Bancshares Stock Down 2.5 %

NASDAQ:FBMS opened at $37.25 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $34.30. First Bancshares has a 52-week low of $22.96 and a 52-week high of $39.21. The company has a market cap of $1.16 billion, a PE ratio of 15.26 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Bancshares

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ increased its holdings in First Bancshares by 84.5% during the fourth quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 59,194 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,072,000 after buying an additional 27,118 shares during the last quarter. Vestcor Inc bought a new position in shares of First Bancshares in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of First Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth about $307,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of First Bancshares by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 967,043 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $33,847,000 after purchasing an additional 68,396 shares during the period. Finally, Wolverine Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in First Bancshares by 44.4% in the 4th quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 47,367 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,658,000 after purchasing an additional 14,567 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.