Chicago Capital Management LLC Acquires New Holdings in The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS)

Chicago Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 10,043 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $352,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vestcor Inc purchased a new position in First Bancshares during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Bancshares by 50.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,194 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $103,000 after purchasing an additional 1,076 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of First Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth about $182,000. Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Bancshares during the third quarter worth approximately $236,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in First Bancshares in the fourth quarter worth approximately $307,000. 69.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on FBMS shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of First Bancshares from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of First Bancshares in a research report on Friday, March 21st. They set a “sell” rating on the stock.

First Bancshares Trading Down 0.2 %

NASDAQ:FBMS opened at $35.73 on Wednesday. The First Bancshares, Inc. has a 12-month low of $22.96 and a 12-month high of $39.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $36.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.97. The firm has a market cap of $1.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.64 and a beta of 0.92.

First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. First Bancshares’s payout ratio is 40.98%.

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.