First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Analyst Says

First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) had its price objective upped by stock analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $40.00 to $45.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the bank’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price target would suggest a potential upside of 21.56% from the stock’s previous close.

FBMS has been the topic of several other reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on First Bancshares in a research report on Friday, November 29th. They issued a “sell” rating on the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott lowered shares of First Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.17.

First Bancshares Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of FBMS opened at $37.02 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84. First Bancshares has a 1-year low of $22.96 and a 1-year high of $39.08. The stock has a market cap of $1.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.88 and a beta of 0.93. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $34.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.80.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Bancshares

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Bancshares by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 675,448 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $21,706,000 after purchasing an additional 12,567 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its position in First Bancshares by 48.1% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 86,748 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,787,000 after buying an additional 28,184 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in First Bancshares during the third quarter worth approximately $421,000. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of First Bancshares by 3.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 971,246 shares of the bank’s stock worth $31,206,000 after acquiring an additional 28,215 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of First Bancshares by 120.5% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 20,218 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $650,000 after acquiring an additional 11,048 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.