First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) Shares Gap Up to $25.28

The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $25.28, but opened at $25.99. First Bancshares shares last traded at $25.20, with a volume of 8,282 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $28.00 price objective on shares of First Bancshares in a research report on Friday, January 26th. StockNews.com cut shares of First Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, April 13th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $34.00 target price on shares of First Bancshares in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, TheStreet cut shares of First Bancshares from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.00.

First Bancshares Stock Performance

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’s 50 day moving average price is $24.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $782.00 million, a PE ratio of 10.54 and a beta of 0.88.

First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The bank reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($0.11). The firm 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that The First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Bancshares

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Amalgamated Bank boosted its stake in First Bancshares by 17.2% during the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 2,966 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 436 shares during the period. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in First Bancshares by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 30,144 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $884,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in First Bancshares by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 61,430 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,657,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in First Bancshares by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 14,102 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $414,000 after purchasing an additional 714 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of First Bancshares by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 134,660 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,632,000 after acquiring an additional 904 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.