The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the four ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $35.50.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on FBMS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of First Bancshares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $31.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Hovde Group boosted their price objective on shares of First Bancshares from $29.00 to $32.50 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Janney Montgomery Scott cut shares of First Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of First Bancshares in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “sell” rating for the company.

First Bancshares Stock Performance

NASDAQ FBMS opened at $36.37 on Monday. First Bancshares has a 52-week low of $22.96 and a 52-week high of $38.21. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $29.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.84. The company has a market capitalization of $1.13 billion, a PE ratio of 16.46 and a beta of 0.91.

First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.75%. First Bancshares’s payout ratio is 45.25%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Bancshares

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FBMS. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in First Bancshares by 72.7% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 62,984 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,634,000 after purchasing an additional 26,514 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of First Bancshares by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,626,074 shares of the bank’s stock worth $42,197,000 after buying an additional 59,471 shares during the period. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Bancshares in the 1st quarter worth about $103,000. CreativeOne Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Bancshares in the 1st quarter worth about $202,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of First Bancshares by 17.8% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,797 shares of the bank’s stock worth $229,000 after buying an additional 1,332 shares during the period. 69.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.