StockNews.com Begins Coverage on First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS)

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) in a report published on Sunday. The brokerage issued a sell rating on the bank’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on FBMS. Hovde Group increased their price objective on shares of First Bancshares from $29.00 to $32.50 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded First Bancshares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $31.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $35.50.

First Bancshares Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FBMS opened at $33.79 on Friday. First Bancshares has a 1-year low of $22.96 and a 1-year high of $34.40. The stock has a market cap of $1.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.41 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $32.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.40.

First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.02. First Bancshares had a return on equity of 8.82% and a net margin of 18.71%. The firm had revenue of $104.35 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $70.40 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.85 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that First Bancshares will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Bancshares

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in First Bancshares in the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of First Bancshares by 3,387.8% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,709 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 1,660 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Bancshares during the second quarter valued at approximately $89,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Bancshares during the first quarter worth approximately $103,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP grew its holdings in First Bancshares by 652.7% in the 1st quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 7,474 shares of the bank’s stock worth $194,000 after buying an additional 6,481 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.