First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) Price Target Lowered to $28.00 at Hovde Group

First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) had its price objective cut by Hovde Group from $29.50 to $28.00 in a research report released on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have a market perform rating on the bank’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of First Bancshares from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Stephens reiterated an overweight rating and issued a $34.00 price target on shares of First Bancshares in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, TheStreet downgraded shares of First Bancshares from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, First Bancshares has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $31.00.

First Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of FBMS opened at $25.10 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $783.62 million, a P/E ratio of 9.96 and a beta of 0.90. First Bancshares has a twelve month low of $22.96 and a twelve month high of $32.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $24.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.86.

First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 29th. The bank reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $104.34 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $69.30 million. First Bancshares had a net margin of 20.00% and a return on equity of 9.85%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.86 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that First Bancshares will post 2.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.98%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 6th. First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.68%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in First Bancshares during the third quarter worth about $59,000. Amalgamated Bank increased its holdings in shares of First Bancshares by 17.2% during the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 2,966 shares of the bank’s stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 436 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in First Bancshares in the 4th quarter valued at $87,000. ELCO Management Co. LLC acquired a new stake in First Bancshares during the 3rd quarter valued at $201,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in First Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth $209,000. 69.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About First Bancshares

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.