3,988 Shares in The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS) Bought by EntryPoint Capital LLC

EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,988 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $103,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp bought a new stake in First Bancshares in the 4th quarter valued at $12,681,000. Algebris UK Ltd bought a new stake in First Bancshares in the 1st quarter valued at $3,492,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in First Bancshares by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,115,691 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $32,724,000 after purchasing an additional 106,088 shares during the period. Steele Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in First Bancshares in the 4th quarter valued at $1,788,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings 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 during the period. 69.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

First Bancshares Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of First Bancshares stock opened at $30.75 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $960.02 million, a P/E ratio of 11.51 and a beta of 0.93. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $25.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.41. The First Bancshares, Inc. has a 12-month low of $22.96 and a 12-month high of $32.06.

First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $104.35 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $70.40 million. First Bancshares had a net margin of 18.71% and a return on equity of 8.90%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.85 EPS. Research analysts expect that The First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 8th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 8th. First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on FBMS shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of First Bancshares from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday. Hovde Group reduced 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 report on Monday, May 6th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of First Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.75.

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.