Quest Partners LLC Has $602,000 Stake in The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS)

Quest Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS) by 447.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,746 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,323 shares during the quarter. Quest Partners LLC owned 0.06% of First Bancshares worth $602,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in FBMS. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Bancshares during the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. CWM LLC grew its stake in First Bancshares by 3,387.8% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,709 shares of the bank’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 1,660 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Bancshares during the first quarter worth approximately $202,000. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of First Bancshares in the third quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of First Bancshares in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $216,000. 69.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

First Bancshares Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of FBMS opened at $37.65 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $33.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.17 billion, a PE ratio of 17.04 and a beta of 0.91. The First Bancshares, Inc. has a 12-month low of $22.96 and a 12-month high of $38.21.

First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.66%. First Bancshares’s payout ratio is presently 45.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

First Bancshares 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.