First Bancshares upgraded to Buy at DA Davidson after group-wide selloff

As previously reported, DA Davidson upgraded First Bancshares to Buy from Neutral with an unchanged price target of $34. The bank is coming off “a solid NII-driven” Q2 earnings beat, after which the firm moved its EPS estimates “meaningfully higher,” but the recent group-wide selloff means the firm’s target is now implying more than 19% upside in the shares, the analyst tells investors. While the shares trade at a premium multiple, the firm views this as “fully warranted given the implied safety and quality” given the bank’s “solid defensive characteristics,” including favorable comps compared to peers on funding and liquidity, the analyst added.