First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) Downgraded to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Several other research firms also recently commented on FBMS. Stephens reiterated an overweight rating and issued a $34.00 price objective on shares of First Bancshares in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. TheStreet downgraded First Bancshares from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a market perform rating and issued a $28.00 price objective on shares of First Bancshares in a report on Friday, January 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $32.00.

First Bancshares Price Performance

FBMS opened at $23.43 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $24.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $26.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market cap of $731.72 million, a PE ratio of 9.80 and a beta of 0.88. First Bancshares has a 1 year low of $22.82 and a 1 year high of $32.06.

First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The bank reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.70 by ($0.11). First Bancshares had a return on equity of 10.60% and a net margin of 19.47%. The company had revenue of $60.01 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $72.10 million. Sell-side analysts predict that First Bancshares will post 2.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Bancshares Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is an increase from First Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 6th. First Bancshares’s payout ratio is currently 41.84%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Bancshares

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in FBMS. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp bought a new stake in shares of First Bancshares during the 4th quarter valued at about $12,681,000. BlackRock Inc. grew its stake in shares of First Bancshares by 8.8% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 2,633,224 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $68,043,000 after purchasing an additional 213,743 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of First Bancshares by 18.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,208,528 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $36,099,000 after purchasing an additional 186,367 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of First Bancshares by 25.4% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 792,033 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $20,458,000 after acquiring an additional 160,630 shares during the period. Finally, North Reef Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of First Bancshares by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP now owns 1,238,991 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $36,340,000 after acquiring an additional 132,210 shares during the period. 69.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.