First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $38.72 and last traded at $38.72, with a volume of 9139 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $37.65.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

First Bancshares Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $33.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $30.18. The stock has a market cap of $1.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.94 and a beta of 0.91.

First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.60%. First Bancshares’s payout ratio is 45.25%.

Institutional Trading of First Bancshares

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of First Bancshares by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,626,074 shares of the bank’s stock worth $42,197,000 after acquiring an additional 59,471 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of First Bancshares by 7.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,404,491 shares of the bank’s stock worth $36,487,000 after acquiring an additional 91,314 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of First Bancshares by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 971,246 shares of the bank’s stock worth $31,206,000 after acquiring an additional 28,215 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of First Bancshares by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 898,647 shares of the bank’s stock worth $28,874,000 after acquiring an additional 37,167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of First Bancshares by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 675,448 shares of the bank’s stock worth $21,706,000 after acquiring an additional 12,567 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.95% of the company’s stock.

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.