The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS) Short Interest Up 11.5% in April

The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 380,100 shares, an increase of 11.5% from the March 31st total of 341,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 173,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.2 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on FBMS shares. StockNews.com raised First Bancshares from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $34.00 price objective on shares of First Bancshares in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. TheStreet cut First Bancshares from a "b-" rating to a "c+" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $28.00 target price on shares of First Bancshares in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $32.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Bancshares

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of First Bancshares by 49.0% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 21,006 shares of the bank's stock valued at $540,000 after purchasing an additional 6,904 shares in the last quarter. FCG Investment Co purchased a new position in First Bancshares in the first quarter valued at approximately $679,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new position in First Bancshares during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $226,000. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp purchased a new stake in First Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth approximately $12,681,000. Finally, Petiole USA ltd grew its stake in First Bancshares by 19.3% during the fourth quarter. Petiole USA ltd now owns 202,145 shares of the bank's stock worth $5,929,000 after buying an additional 32,643 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.95% of the company's stock.

First Bancshares Trading Up 0.9 %

FBMS traded up $0.21 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $24.15. The company's stock had a trading volume of 139,459 shares, compared to its average volume of 159,972. First Bancshares has a twelve month low of $22.82 and a twelve month high of $32.06. The stock has a market cap of $753.96 million, a PE ratio of 9.58 and a beta of 0.88. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $24.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

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

First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.14%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 6th. First Bancshares's 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.