First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) Coverage Initiated at StockNews.com

StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) in a research note issued on Friday. The brokerage set a “sell” rating on the bank’s stock.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of First Bancshares from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th.

First Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of FBMS opened at $34.74 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. First Bancshares has a twelve month low of $22.96 and a twelve month high of $39.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.24 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a 50 day moving average of $36.00 and a 200-day moving average of $34.90.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vestcor Inc bought a new position in shares of First Bancshares in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in First Bancshares in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of First Bancshares by 864.4% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 974 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 873 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in shares of First Bancshares by 26.0% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,102 shares of the bank’s stock worth $109,000 after purchasing an additional 641 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Bancshares by 50.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,194 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $103,000 after purchasing an additional 1,076 shares during the period. 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.