The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS) Receives $31.00 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the four ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $31.00.

Several research firms recently commented on FBMS. StockNews.com raised First Bancshares from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $34.00 target price on shares of First Bancshares in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $28.00 target price on shares of First Bancshares in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Hovde Group lowered their target price on First Bancshares from $29.50 to $28.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, TheStreet cut First Bancshares from a "b-" rating to a "c+" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FBMS. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of First Bancshares in the 3rd quarter valued at about $59,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Bancshares in the 4th quarter valued at about $87,000. Amalgamated Bank lifted its holdings in shares of First Bancshares by 17.2% in the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 2,966 shares of the bank's stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 436 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Bancshares in the 4th quarter valued at about $209,000. Finally, ELCO Management Co. LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Bancshares in the 3rd quarter valued at about $201,000. 69.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Bancshares Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of FBMS stock traded up $0.33 on Monday, hitting $25.10. The stock had a trading volume of 176,505 shares, compared to its average volume of 160,102. 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 capitalization of $783.62 million, a P/E ratio of 9.83 and a beta of 0.90. First Bancshares has a 1 year low of $22.96 and a 1 year high of $32.06. The company's 50 day moving average price is $24.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.87.

First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 29th. The bank reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $104.34 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $69.30 million. First Bancshares had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 20.00%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.86 EPS. Analysts anticipate that First Bancshares will post 2.53 earnings per share for the current year.

First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 6th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.98%. First Bancshares's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.68%.

About First Bancshares

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.