Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Cuts First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) Price Target to $38.00

First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS – Get Rating) had its price target decreased by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $40.00 to $38.00 in a research note released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has an outperform rating on the bank’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. StockNews.com started coverage on First Bancshares in a report on Wednesday, October 12th. They set a hold rating for the company. Janney Montgomery Scott raised First Bancshares from a neutral rating to a buy rating and upped their target price for the company from $33.50 to $39.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 9th. Hovde Group lowered First Bancshares from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and set a $35.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, January 4th. Finally, Stephens raised their price target on First Bancshares from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Monday, October 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $31.00.

First Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FBMS opened at $32.16 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. First Bancshares has a 12 month low of $26.95 and a 12 month high of $39.09. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $31.52 and a 200-day moving average of $31.26. The company has a market capitalization of $772.80 million, a P/E ratio of 11.28 and a beta of 0.92.

First Bancshares Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 8th will be given a $0.21 dividend. This is a positive change from First Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.61%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 7th. First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is 28.07%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Bancshares

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fisher Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of First Bancshares during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,548,000. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D acquired a new stake in First Bancshares during the fourth quarter valued at $2,159,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in shares of First Bancshares by 187.1% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 4,778 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $153,000 after purchasing an additional 3,114 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its position in shares of First Bancshares by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 15,071 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $482,000 after purchasing an additional 794 shares during the period. Finally, SignalPoint Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in First Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth about $2,668,000. 67.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About First Bancshares

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First Bancshares, Inc (Mississippi) operates as a bank holding company. It provides banking services such as personal and business which include checking, savings, and loans, cards, and others. It operates through the following segments: Commercial/Retail Bank, Mortgage Banking, and Holding Company. The Commercial/Retail Bank segment provides a full range of commercial banking services to corporations and other business customers.