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

First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report issued on Thursday.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. TheStreet downgraded First Bancshares from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Hovde Group cut their target price on First Bancshares from $29.50 to $28.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $34.00 target price on shares of First Bancshares in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $28.00 target price on shares of First Bancshares in a research report on Friday, January 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.00.

First Bancshares Stock Performance

FBMS traded up $0.28 during trading on Thursday, hitting $25.51. The stock had a trading volume of 157,239 shares, compared to its average volume of 160,000. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $24.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $25.85. The firm has a market cap of $796.37 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.12 and a beta of 0.90. First Bancshares has a one year low of $22.96 and a one year high of $32.06. 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) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $104.34 million during 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $0.86 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that First Bancshares will post 2.53 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Bancshares

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in First Bancshares by 69.9% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 16,849 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $454,000 after buying an additional 6,934 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in First Bancshares by 0.7% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 134,660 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,632,000 after buying an additional 904 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in First Bancshares by 18.6% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 13,388 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $361,000 after buying an additional 2,102 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in First Bancshares by 49.0% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 12,203 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $329,000 after buying an additional 4,014 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in First Bancshares in the third quarter valued at approximately $59,000. 69.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.