First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) Coverage Initiated at StockNews.com

Equities research analysts at StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) in a report released on Tuesday. The brokerage set a “sell” rating on the bank’s stock.

FBMS has been the topic of several other reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded First Bancshares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $31.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Janney Montgomery Scott lowered First Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Hovde Group raised their price target on First Bancshares from $29.00 to $32.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $35.50.

First Bancshares Stock Up 12.8 %

NASDAQ FBMS opened at $37.89 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $32.61 and a 200-day moving average of $29.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.01 and a beta of 0.91. First Bancshares has a 52 week low of $22.96 and a 52 week high of $38.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82.

Institutional Trading of First Bancshares

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Bancshares by 5.3% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 93,066 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,990,000 after purchasing an additional 4,690 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of First Bancshares in the third quarter valued at about $203,000. Versor Investments LP bought a new stake in shares of First Bancshares in the third quarter valued at about $1,666,000. Wolverine Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Bancshares in the third quarter valued at about $1,054,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of First Bancshares in the third quarter valued at about $846,000. 69.95% of the stock is currently owned by 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.