Principal Financial Group Inc. Takes Position in The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS)

Principal Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 26,320 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $846,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.08% of First Bancshares as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FBMS. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in First Bancshares by 16.3% in the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 119,512 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,105,000 after purchasing an additional 16,723 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of First Bancshares by 3.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 971,246 shares of the bank’s stock worth $31,206,000 after buying an additional 28,215 shares in the last quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Bancshares in the third quarter worth $1,054,000. Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. bought a new position in shares of First Bancshares during the second quarter worth $4,548,000. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its stake in First Bancshares by 48.1% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 86,748 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,787,000 after acquiring an additional 28,184 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.95% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on FBMS shares. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of First Bancshares in a research note on Tuesday, December 31st. They issued a “sell” rating on the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded First Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on First Bancshares from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $37.17.

First Bancshares Stock Performance

First Bancshares stock opened at $35.29 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $35.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market cap of $1.10 billion, a PE ratio of 15.97 and a beta of 0.94. The First Bancshares, Inc. has a twelve month low of $22.96 and a twelve month high of $39.08.

First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.83%. First Bancshares’s payout ratio is currently 45.25%.

First Bancshares 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.