First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) Downgraded by StockNews.com

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

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. 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. TheStreet cut First Bancshares from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $28.00 price objective on shares of First Bancshares in a report on Friday, January 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.00.

First Bancshares Price Performance

NASDAQ FBMS opened at $23.43 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.16. First Bancshares has a twelve month low of $22.82 and a twelve month high of $32.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $731.72 million, a PE ratio of 9.80 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85.

First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) last issued 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). The business had revenue of $60.01 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.10 million. First Bancshares had a return on equity of 10.60% and a net margin of 19.47%. Research analysts anticipate that First Bancshares will post 2.53 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Bancshares

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its stake in First Bancshares by 174.8% during the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 874 shares of the bank’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 556 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of First Bancshares by 100.9% during the 2nd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 910 shares of the bank’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in First Bancshares by 759.7% during the 1st quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,023 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 904 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in First Bancshares in the third quarter valued at about $59,000. Finally, Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. boosted its position in First Bancshares by 26.4% in the second quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 2,507 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 524 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.95% of the company’s stock.

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.