First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) Price Target Increased to $31.00 by Analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) had its price objective upped by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $28.00 to $31.00 in a research note published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has a market perform rating on the bank’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also commented on FBMS. Hovde Group decreased their price objective on shares of First Bancshares from $29.50 to $28.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of First Bancshares from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $31.75.

First Bancshares Trading Up 1.6 %

First Bancshares stock opened at $30.75 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market cap of $960.02 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.51 and a beta of 0.93. First Bancshares has a 1 year low of $22.96 and a 1 year high of $32.06. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $25.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.41.

First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $104.35 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $70.40 million. First Bancshares had a net margin of 18.71% and a return on equity of 8.90%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.85 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that First Bancshares will post 2.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 8th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 8th. First Bancshares’s payout ratio is presently 39.68%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Bancshares

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp bought a new position in First Bancshares in the 4th quarter worth $12,681,000. Algebris UK Ltd bought a new position in First Bancshares in the 1st quarter worth $3,492,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in First Bancshares by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,115,691 shares of the bank’s stock worth $32,724,000 after acquiring an additional 106,088 shares during the period. Steele Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in First Bancshares in the 4th quarter worth $1,788,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in First Bancshares by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,626,074 shares of the bank’s stock worth $42,197,000 after acquiring an additional 59,471 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.