First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) Coverage Initiated at StockNews.com

Research analysts at StockNews.com started coverage on shares of First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday. The firm set a “sell” rating on the bank’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on FBMS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on First Bancshares from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded First Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.17.

First Bancshares Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FBMS opened at $35.46 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $33.02. First Bancshares has a 52 week low of $22.96 and a 52 week high of $39.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. The company has a market cap of $1.11 billion, a PE ratio of 16.05 and a beta of 0.94.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Bancshares

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in First Bancshares by 5.9% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 475,014 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $15,262,000 after purchasing an additional 26,349 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of First Bancshares during the 3rd quarter valued at about $846,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Bancshares in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $56,256,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of First Bancshares by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 675,448 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $21,706,000 after buying an additional 12,567 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its holdings in First Bancshares by 48.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 86,748 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,787,000 after buying an additional 28,184 shares during the last quarter. 69.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.