Steele Capital Management Inc. Cuts Stake in The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS)

Steele Capital Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS) by 40.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,500 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 24,398 shares during the period. Steele Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of First Bancshares worth $1,173,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in First Bancshares by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,626,074 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $42,197,000 after purchasing an additional 59,471 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of First Bancshares by 7.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,404,491 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $36,487,000 after purchasing an additional 91,314 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of First Bancshares by 65.0% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 231,635 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,018,000 after purchasing an additional 91,269 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of First Bancshares by 9.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 190,928 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,960,000 after purchasing an additional 16,777 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of First Bancshares during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,548,000. 69.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on FBMS. StockNews.com assumed coverage on First Bancshares in a report on Thursday. They issued a “sell” rating for the company. Hovde Group upped their target price on shares of First Bancshares from $29.00 to $32.50 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded shares of First Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of First Bancshares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $31.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $35.50.

First Bancshares Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of First Bancshares stock opened at $35.89 on Thursday. The First Bancshares, Inc. has a twelve month low of $22.96 and a twelve month high of $38.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.30 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $33.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.97.

First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.25%.

First Bancshares 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.