Steele Capital Management Inc. Takes $1.79 Million Position in The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS)

Steele Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 60,973 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $1,788,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of First Bancshares during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $59,000. Amalgamated Bank increased its holdings in First Bancshares by 17.2% during the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 2,966 shares of the bank’s stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 436 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in First Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth $209,000. ELCO Management Co. LLC acquired a new stake in First Bancshares in the third quarter valued at $201,000. Finally, Alps Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of First Bancshares in the 3rd quarter valued at about $327,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.95% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FBMS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $28.00 target price on shares of First Bancshares in a report on Friday, January 26th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $34.00 price objective on shares of First Bancshares in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. TheStreet downgraded First Bancshares from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, StockNews.com cut First Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.00.

First Bancshares Stock Performance

FBMS stock traded up $0.23 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $24.13. 146,598 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 161,213. The First Bancshares, Inc. has a 1-year low of $22.82 and a 1-year high of $32.06. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $753.34 million, a PE ratio of 9.58 and a beta of 0.88.

First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 6th. First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is 39.68%.

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.