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

First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report issued on Wednesday.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on FBMS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $28.00 price target on shares of First Bancshares in a research report on Friday, January 26th. TheStreet cut shares of First Bancshares from a "b-" rating to a "c+" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $34.00 price target on shares of First Bancshares in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $32.00.

First Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of FBMS stock traded down $0.90 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $24.47. The company had a trading volume of 350,436 shares, compared to its average volume of 170,408. First Bancshares has a 52-week low of $22.82 and a 52-week high of $32.06. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $24.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.28. 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 company has a market capitalization of $764.20 million, a P/E ratio of 10.24 and a beta of 0.88.

First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The bank reported $0.59 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. Equities research analysts forecast that First Bancshares will post 2.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FBMS. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp bought a new position in First Bancshares during the fourth quarter valued at $12,681,000. BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in shares of First Bancshares by 8.8% during the second 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. boosted its stake in shares of First Bancshares by 18.2% during the third 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 boosted its stake in shares of First Bancshares by 25.4% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 792,033 shares of the bank's stock valued at $20,458,000 after purchasing an additional 160,630 shares during the period. Finally, North Reef Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of First Bancshares by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP now owns 1,238,991 shares of the bank's stock valued at $36,340,000 after purchasing an additional 132,210 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.

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