First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) Cut to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report released on Saturday morning.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on FBMS. Stephens reaffirmed an overweight rating and set a $34.00 price target on shares of First Bancshares in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. TheStreet lowered shares of First Bancshares from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a market perform rating and set a $28.00 price objective on shares of First Bancshares in a report on Friday, January 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Bancshares currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $32.00.

First Bancshares Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of FBMS stock opened at $23.15 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $722.97 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.69 and a beta of 0.88. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $24.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.10. First Bancshares has a one year low of $22.82 and a one year high of $32.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The bank reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($0.11). First Bancshares had a return on equity of 10.60% and a net margin of 19.47%. The business had revenue of $60.01 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $72.10 million. Sell-side analysts expect that First Bancshares will post 2.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Bancshares Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is a positive change from First Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 6th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.32%. First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.84%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Bancshares

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FBMS. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings in shares of First Bancshares by 174.8% in the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 874 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 556 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Bancshares by 100.9% in the 2nd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 910 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in shares of First Bancshares by 759.7% in the 1st quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,023 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 904 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of First Bancshares in the 3rd quarter valued at about $59,000. Finally, Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. raised its holdings in shares of First Bancshares by 26.4% in the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 2,507 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 524 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.