The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS) Receives $31.00 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the four brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $31.00.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on FBMS. TheStreet cut shares of First Bancshares from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. StockNews.com raised First Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. 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 reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $28.00 price objective on shares of First Bancshares in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Hovde Group dropped their target price on shares of First Bancshares from $29.50 to $28.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday.

First Bancshares Stock Performance

NASDAQ FBMS opened at $25.23 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company’s fifty day moving average is $24.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.85. First Bancshares has a 52-week low of $22.96 and a 52-week high of $32.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $787.63 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.01 and a beta of 0.90.

First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 29th. The bank reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $104.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $69.30 million. First Bancshares had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 20.00%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.86 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that First Bancshares will post 2.53 EPS for the current year.

First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 6th. First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.68%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Bancshares

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of FBMS. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of First Bancshares during the 3rd quarter valued at about $59,000. Amalgamated Bank increased its position in shares of First Bancshares by 17.2% in the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 2,966 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 436 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in First Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth about $87,000. ELCO Management Co. LLC bought a new position in First Bancshares in the third quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth approximately $209,000. Institutional investors 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.