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

StockNews.com lowered shares of First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note published on Saturday morning.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on FBMS. TheStreet cut First Bancshares from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a market perform rating and issued a $28.00 price objective on shares of First Bancshares in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an overweight rating and issued a $34.00 price objective on shares of First Bancshares in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $32.00.

First Bancshares Price Performance

NASDAQ:FBMS opened at $23.35 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $24.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $729.22 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.77 and a beta of 0.88. First Bancshares has a 12-month low of $22.82 and a 12-month high of $32.06.

First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The bank reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.70 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $60.01 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.10 million. First Bancshares had a return on equity of 10.60% and a net margin of 19.47%. On average, analysts anticipate that First Bancshares will post 2.53 earnings per share for the current year.

First Bancshares Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 7th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 6th. This is a boost from First Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.28%. First Bancshares’s payout ratio is currently 41.84%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Bancshares

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FBMS. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its stake 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 during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake 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 during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake 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 during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of First Bancshares in the 3rd quarter valued at $59,000. Finally, Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. increased its stake 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 during the last quarter. 69.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.