First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) Trading Up 4.1% – Still a Buy?

The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS)’s stock price shot up 4.1% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $33.68 and last traded at $33.68. 33,662 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 195,546 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.36.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FBMS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Hovde Group boosted their price target on First Bancshares from $29.00 to $32.50 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of First Bancshares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $31.00 to $40.00 in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of First Bancshares in a research report on Sunday. They set a “sell” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $35.50.

First Bancshares Trading Up 3.9 %

The stock has a market cap of $1.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.83 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $32.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.40.

First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.02. The business 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 8.82%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.85 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that The First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Bancshares

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FBMS. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in First Bancshares during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. CWM LLC boosted its position in First Bancshares by 3,387.8% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,709 shares of the bank’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 1,660 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in First Bancshares in the second quarter valued at $89,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in First Bancshares in the 1st quarter worth about $103,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP increased its position in shares of First Bancshares by 652.7% in the first quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 7,474 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $194,000 after buying an additional 6,481 shares in the last quarter. 69.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.