First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) Downgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday morning.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on FBMS. Stephens reiterated an overweight rating and issued a $34.00 price target on shares of First Bancshares in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a market perform rating and issued a $28.00 price target on shares of First Bancshares in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, TheStreet lowered First Bancshares from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $32.00.

First Bancshares Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of FBMS stock opened at $23.35 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.13. First Bancshares has a fifty-two week low of $22.82 and a fifty-two week high of $32.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $729.22 million, a P/E ratio of 9.77 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The bank reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($0.11). First Bancshares had a net margin of 19.47% and a return on equity of 10.60%. The company had revenue of $60.01 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.10 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that First Bancshares will post 2.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Bancshares Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 7th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 6th. This is a positive change from First Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.28%. First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.84%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Bancshares

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in First Bancshares by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 33,937 shares of the bank’s stock worth $915,000 after acquiring an additional 409 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank raised its stake in shares of First Bancshares by 17.2% during the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 2,966 shares of the bank’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 436 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of First Bancshares by 100.9% during the 2nd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 910 shares of the bank’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares in the last quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. raised its stake in shares of First Bancshares by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 30,144 shares of the bank’s stock worth $884,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank raised its stake in shares of First Bancshares by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 61,430 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,657,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. 69.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.