Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. Sells 5,000 Shares of The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS)

Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. trimmed its holdings in shares of The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 191,925 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 5,000 shares during the quarter. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. owned 0.62% of First Bancshares worth $6,717,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FBMS. CWM LLC increased its stake in First Bancshares by 73.2% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,960 shares of the bank’s stock worth $95,000 after buying an additional 1,251 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of First Bancshares by 50.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,194 shares of the bank’s stock worth $103,000 after acquiring an additional 1,076 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of First Bancshares during the third quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Bancshares in the third quarter valued at approximately $236,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in First Bancshares in the third quarter worth approximately $308,000. 69.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Janney Montgomery Scott cut First Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of First Bancshares in a research note on Sunday, February 9th. They issued a “sell” rating for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of First Bancshares from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $38.75.

First Bancshares Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FBMS opened at $37.86 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a PE ratio of 15.52 and a beta of 0.94. 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 First Bancshares, Inc. has a 12-month low of $22.96 and a 12-month high of $39.21. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $36.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.45.

First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.64%. First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.98%.

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.