Fisher Asset Management LLC Has $1.66 Million Stake in The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS)

Fisher Asset Management LLC lowered its position in The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS) by 14.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 56,498 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 9,211 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned 0.18% of First Bancshares worth $1,657,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Amalgamated Bank raised its stake in shares of First Bancshares by 17.2% in the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 2,966 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 436 shares in the last quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. grew its stake in First Bancshares by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 30,144 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $884,000 after buying an additional 499 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in First Bancshares by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 61,430 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,657,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in First Bancshares by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 14,102 shares of the bank’s stock worth $414,000 after acquiring an additional 714 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in First Bancshares by 0.7% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 134,660 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,632,000 after acquiring an additional 904 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.95% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on FBMS shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and set a $28.00 target price on shares of First Bancshares in a research note on Friday, January 26th. StockNews.com raised shares of First Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. TheStreet downgraded shares of First Bancshares from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $34.00 price target on shares of First Bancshares in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Hovde Group cut their price objective on shares of First Bancshares from $29.50 to $28.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with 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 an average price target of $31.00.

First Bancshares Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of First Bancshares stock opened at $25.23 on Thursday. The First Bancshares, Inc. has a 52-week low of $22.96 and a 52-week high of $32.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $787.63 million, a PE ratio of 10.01 and a beta of 0.90. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $24.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.85.

First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 29th. The bank reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $104.34 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $69.30 million. First Bancshares had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 20.00%. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.86 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that The First Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.53 EPS for the current year.

First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.96%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 6th. First Bancshares’s payout ratio is presently 39.68%.

First Bancshares 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.