Brokerages Set The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS) PT at $35.50

The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the four research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $35.50.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on FBMS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of First Bancshares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $31.00 to $40.00 in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Janney Montgomery Scott cut First Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com started coverage on First Bancshares in a research note on Sunday, October 20th. They set a “sell” rating for the company. Finally, Hovde Group lifted their price target on shares of First Bancshares from $29.00 to $32.50 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th.

First Bancshares Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of FBMS opened at $32.99 on Thursday. First Bancshares has a fifty-two week low of $22.96 and a fifty-two week high of $34.40. The company has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion, a PE ratio of 13.80 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $32.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82.

First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.63 earnings per share 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 business 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 firm posted $0.85 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that First Bancshares will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.84%.

Institutional Trading of First Bancshares

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Bancshares in the second quarter worth about $36,000. CWM LLC grew its stake in First Bancshares by 3,387.8% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,709 shares of the bank’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 1,660 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in First Bancshares in the second quarter valued at $89,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Bancshares during the first quarter valued at $103,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP increased its holdings in shares of First Bancshares by 652.7% in the 1st quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 7,474 shares of the bank’s stock worth $194,000 after acquiring an additional 6,481 shares during the period. 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.