Entropy Technologies LP Invests $203,000 in The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS)

Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 6,311 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $203,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of FBMS. Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. acquired a new stake in First Bancshares in the 2nd quarter valued at $4,548,000. Algebris UK Ltd acquired a new position in shares of First Bancshares during the first quarter valued at about $3,492,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of First Bancshares by 7.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,404,491 shares of the bank’s stock worth $36,487,000 after acquiring an additional 91,314 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of First Bancshares by 65.0% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 231,635 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,018,000 after acquiring an additional 91,269 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning lifted its position in First Bancshares by 310.0% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 91,591 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,380,000 after acquiring an additional 69,254 shares in the last quarter. 69.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on FBMS shares. StockNews.com started coverage on First Bancshares in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “sell” rating on the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott cut First Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised First Bancshares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $31.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Hovde Group lifted their target price on First Bancshares from $29.00 to $32.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.50.

First Bancshares Price Performance

First Bancshares stock opened at $36.37 on Monday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $33.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.77. The First Bancshares, Inc. has a 12 month low of $22.96 and a 12 month high of $38.21. The company has a market cap of $1.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.46 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.75%. First Bancshares’s payout ratio is 45.25%.

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.