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

StockNews.com cut shares of First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Thursday.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Hovde Group cut their price objective on shares of First Bancshares from $29.50 to $28.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 6th. TheStreet lowered shares of First Bancshares from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. One 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $31.00.

First Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FBMS opened at $25.98 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $811.10 million, a PE ratio of 10.31 and a beta of 0.92. First Bancshares has a twelve month low of $22.96 and a twelve month high of $32.06. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $24.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $25.54.

First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The bank reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $104.34 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $69.30 million. First Bancshares had a net margin of 20.00% and a return on equity of 9.73%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.86 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that First Bancshares will post 2.45 EPS for the current year.

First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 7th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 6th. First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.68%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Bancshares

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FBMS. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in First Bancshares by 4.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 224,195 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,047,000 after purchasing an additional 8,642 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in shares of First Bancshares by 16.7% during the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 16,446 shares of the bank’s stock worth $444,000 after acquiring an additional 2,357 shares in the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of First Bancshares during the third quarter worth approximately $327,000. ELCO Management Co. LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Bancshares during the third quarter worth approximately $201,000. Finally, Kennedy Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of First Bancshares by 1.8% during the third quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 340,112 shares of the bank’s stock worth $9,173,000 after acquiring an additional 6,011 shares in the last quarter. 69.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.