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

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

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

First Bancshares Trading Up 0.3 %

FBMS stock opened at $37.86 on Monday. First Bancshares has a 52 week low of $22.96 and a 52 week high of $39.21. The company has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a PE ratio of 15.52 and a beta of 0.94. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $36.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $34.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84.

Institutional Trading of First Bancshares

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vestcor Inc acquired a new position in First Bancshares during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of First Bancshares in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Bancshares by 864.4% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 974 shares of the bank’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 873 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of First Bancshares by 73.2% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,960 shares of the bank’s stock worth $95,000 after buying an additional 1,251 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in First Bancshares by 26.0% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,102 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $109,000 after buying an additional 641 shares in the last quarter. 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.