Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Buys Shares of 29,700 The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS)

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new position in shares of The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 29,700 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $954,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund owned 0.10% of First Bancshares at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Bancshares during the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. CWM LLC lifted its stake in First Bancshares by 3,387.8% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,709 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 1,660 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in First Bancshares during the second quarter worth about $89,000. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of First Bancshares by 50.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,194 shares of the bank’s stock worth $103,000 after buying an additional 1,076 shares during the period. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of First Bancshares in the 3rd quarter valued at about $203,000. 69.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on FBMS. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of First Bancshares in a research note on Friday. They issued a “sell” rating for the company. Janney Montgomery Scott cut First Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $35.50.

First Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FBMS opened at $37.25 on Tuesday. 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $34.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.60. The company has a market cap of $1.16 billion, a PE ratio of 16.86 and a beta of 0.91. The First Bancshares, Inc. has a twelve month low of $22.96 and a twelve month high of $39.08.

First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. First Bancshares’s payout ratio is presently 45.25%.

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.