First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) Receives New Coverage from Analysts at StockNews.com

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

Several other research firms have also issued reports on FBMS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised First Bancshares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $31.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Hovde Group increased their price target on shares of First Bancshares from $29.00 to $32.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, First Bancshares has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $35.50.

First Bancshares Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ FBMS opened at $32.66 on Wednesday. First Bancshares has a 1 year low of $22.96 and a 1 year high of $34.40. The company has a market capitalization of $1.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.96 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $31.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.02. First Bancshares had a net margin of 18.71% and a return on equity of 8.82%. The firm had revenue of $104.35 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $70.40 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.85 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that First Bancshares will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Bancshares

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in First Bancshares by 4.6% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 19,503 shares of the bank’s stock worth $499,000 after acquiring an additional 861 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of First Bancshares by 1.8% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 72,262 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,877,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of First Bancshares by 17.8% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,797 shares of the bank’s stock worth $229,000 after purchasing an additional 1,332 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in First Bancshares in the second quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, CWM LLC raised 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.