First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) Shares Gap Up to $25.28

Shares of The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS - Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $25.28, but opened at $25.99. First Bancshares shares last traded at $25.20, with a volume of 8,282 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on FBMS shares. TheStreet lowered First Bancshares from a "b-" rating to a "c+" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. StockNews.com cut shares of First Bancshares from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a "market perform" rating and set a $28.00 price target on shares of First Bancshares in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $34.00 price objective on shares of First Bancshares in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $32.00.

First Bancshares Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $782.00 million, a P/E ratio of 10.48 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $24.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $26.01.

First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The bank reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($0.11). First Bancshares had a net margin of 19.47% and a return on equity of 10.60%. The business had revenue of $60.01 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $72.10 million. Sell-side analysts expect that The First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.53 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Bancshares

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FBMS. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of First Bancshares in the third quarter valued at $59,000. Amalgamated Bank increased its position in shares of First Bancshares by 17.2% during the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 2,966 shares of the bank's stock valued at $80,000 after buying an additional 436 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Bancshares in the fourth quarter worth about $87,000. ELCO Management Co. LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Bancshares in the third quarter worth about $201,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of First Bancshares in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Hedge funds and other 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.