First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) Now Covered by Analysts at StockNews.com

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

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on First Bancshares from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Janney Montgomery Scott cut shares of First Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $38.75.

First Bancshares Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of FBMS stock opened at $36.00 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $35.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84. First Bancshares has a 1-year low of $22.96 and a 1-year high of $39.08. The company has a market cap of $1.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.29 and a beta of 0.94.

Institutional Trading of First Bancshares

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of First Bancshares by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 475,014 shares of the bank’s stock worth $15,262,000 after purchasing an additional 26,349 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in First Bancshares in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $846,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired a new stake in First Bancshares in the third quarter valued at $56,256,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of First Bancshares by 1.9% in the third 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 raised its stake in shares of First Bancshares by 48.1% during the 3rd 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.