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

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

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

First Bancshares Stock Performance

First Bancshares stock traded up $0.28 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $25.51. 157,239 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 160,000. The firm has a market cap of $796.37 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.12 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $24.73 and a 200 day moving average of $25.85. First Bancshares has a 12 month low of $22.96 and a 12 month high of $32.06.

First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The bank reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.05. First Bancshares had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 20.00%. The firm had revenue of $104.34 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $69.30 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.86 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that First Bancshares will post 2.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in First Bancshares by 72.7% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 62,984 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,634,000 after acquiring an additional 26,514 shares in the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new position in First Bancshares during the first quarter worth $463,000. Algebris UK Ltd acquired a new position in First Bancshares during the first quarter worth $3,492,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in First Bancshares by 8.1% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 82,076 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,130,000 after acquiring an additional 6,125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP raised its stake in First Bancshares by 652.7% during the first quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 7,474 shares of the bank’s stock worth $194,000 after acquiring an additional 6,481 shares in the last quarter. 69.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.