The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS) Shares Purchased by Barclays PLC

Barclays PLC boosted its position in The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS) by 48.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 86,748 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 28,184 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned approximately 0.28% of First Bancshares worth $2,787,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Bancshares in the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in First Bancshares during the second quarter valued at $89,000. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in First Bancshares by 73.2% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,960 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 1,251 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in First Bancshares by 50.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,194 shares of the bank’s stock worth $103,000 after purchasing an additional 1,076 shares during the period. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of First Bancshares in the 3rd quarter valued at about $203,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.95% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

First Bancshares Stock Up 1.1 %

First Bancshares stock opened at $34.96 on Wednesday. The First Bancshares, Inc. has a 12 month low of $22.96 and a 12 month high of $39.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a PE ratio of 15.82 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.92.

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 given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.25%.

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.