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

Analysts at StockNews.com began coverage on shares of First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday. The brokerage set a “sell” rating on the bank’s stock.

FBMS has been the topic of several other reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised First Bancshares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $31.00 to $40.00 in a research note 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 lowered shares of First Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $35.50.

First Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of First Bancshares stock opened at $37.65 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $1.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.04 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 has a 50-day moving average price of $33.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $30.11. First Bancshares has a 1-year low of $22.96 and a 1-year high of $38.21.

Institutional Trading of First Bancshares

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in First Bancshares during the second quarter worth $36,000. CWM LLC grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 1,660 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of First Bancshares by 50.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,194 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $103,000 after acquiring an additional 1,076 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in First Bancshares during the second quarter worth $89,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in First Bancshares during the first quarter worth $103,000. 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.