Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Raises First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) Price Target to $45.00

First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) had its price objective lifted by investment analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $40.00 to $45.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the bank’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ target price suggests a potential upside of 21.98% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on FBMS. StockNews.com assumed coverage on First Bancshares in a research report on Friday, November 29th. They issued a “sell” rating for the company. Janney Montgomery Scott lowered shares of First Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.17.

First Bancshares Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of First Bancshares stock traded up $0.27 on Wednesday, hitting $36.89. 15,660 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 186,974. First Bancshares has a 12-month low of $22.96 and a 12-month high of $39.08. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $34.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market cap of $1.15 billion, a PE ratio of 16.69 and a beta of 0.93.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in First Bancshares by 4.6% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 19,503 shares of the bank’s stock worth $499,000 after buying an additional 861 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in First Bancshares by 50.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,194 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $103,000 after purchasing an additional 1,076 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its holdings in First Bancshares by 73.2% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,960 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 1,251 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in First Bancshares by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 72,262 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,877,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of First Bancshares by 17.8% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,797 shares of the bank’s stock worth $229,000 after purchasing an additional 1,332 shares during the last quarter. 69.95% of the stock is currently 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.