First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) Earns Sell Rating from Analysts at StockNews.com

Equities researchers at StockNews.com began coverage on shares of First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) in a research report issued on Wednesday. The brokerage set a “sell” rating on the bank’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of First Bancshares from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Janney Montgomery Scott cut shares of 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 given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.17.

First Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FBMS opened at $34.36 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.55 and a beta of 0.93. First Bancshares has a one year low of $22.96 and a one year high of $39.08. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $32.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Institutional Trading of First Bancshares

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FBMS. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in First Bancshares by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 19,503 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $499,000 after purchasing an additional 861 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of First Bancshares by 50.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,194 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $103,000 after buying an additional 1,076 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Bancshares by 73.2% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,960 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $95,000 after buying an additional 1,251 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of First Bancshares by 1.8% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 72,262 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,877,000 after buying an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Centiva Capital LP lifted its position in First Bancshares by 17.8% during the 3rd quarter. Centiva Capital LP now owns 9,767 shares of the bank’s stock worth $314,000 after buying an additional 1,476 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.95% of the company’s stock.

First Bancshares Company 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.