First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) Now Covered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) in a research note released on Thursday morning. The brokerage issued a sell rating on the bank’s stock.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target 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.

First Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of FBMS opened at $34.33 on Thursday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $1.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.07 and a beta of 0.92. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $35.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $34.88. First Bancshares has a 12 month low of $22.96 and a 12 month high of $39.21.

First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.98%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Bancshares

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Bancshares in the 3rd quarter worth about $56,256,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of First Bancshares by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,598,088 shares of the bank’s stock worth $55,933,000 after acquiring 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 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,030,933 shares of the bank’s stock worth $36,083,000 after acquiring an additional 27,548 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 28,215 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 68,396 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.