The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the four ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $37.17.

FBMS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of First Bancshares in a report on Wednesday. They set a “sell” rating for the company. Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded First Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on First Bancshares from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th.

First Bancshares Stock Down 3.0 %

NASDAQ FBMS opened at $33.21 on Tuesday. First Bancshares has a twelve month low of $22.96 and a twelve month high of $39.08. The stock has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a PE ratio of 15.03 and a beta of 0.94. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $32.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84.

First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid 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 3.01%. First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is 45.25%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired a new position in First Bancshares in the third quarter worth $56,256,000. Citigroup Inc. raised its holdings in shares of First Bancshares by 1,454.0% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 619,730 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $19,912,000 after buying an additional 579,851 shares during the last quarter. Westchester Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of First Bancshares in the third quarter valued at about $8,249,000. Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. acquired a new position in First Bancshares during the 2nd quarter worth about $4,548,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in First Bancshares by 7.0% during 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 during 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.