Bancorpsouth Bank (NYSE:BXS) Stock Rating Lowered by Stephens

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Stephens cut shares of Bancorpsouth Bank (NYSE:BXS)from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a report issued on Wednesday, March 6th, Stock Target Advisor reports. They currently have $32.00 price target on the bank’s stock, down from their prior price target of $33.00.

BXS has been the topic of several other reports. Brean Capital restated a hold rating on shares of Bancorpsouth Bank in a report on Wednesday, November 14th. Zacks Investment Researchupgraded Bancorpsouth Bank from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $32.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 29th. Finally, ValuEngine cut Bancorpsouth Bank from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Thursday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Bancorpsouth Bank currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $33.50.Get Bancorpsouth Bank alerts: 

Shares of NYSE:BXS traded up $1.01 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $29.23. 554,160 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 585,148. The stock has a market cap of $2.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.11 and a beta of 1.45. Bancorpsouth Bank has a 12 month low of $24.31 and a 12 month high of $35.45 Source

Bancorpsouth Bank (NYSE:BXS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $211.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $221.38 million. Bancorpsouth Bank had a return on equity of 10.43% and a net margin of 23.66%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.41 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Bancorpsouth Bank will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th will be paid a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. Bancorpsouth Bank’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.49%.

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. lifted its stake in Bancorpsouth Bank by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 11,371,437 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $297,251,000 after buying an additional 613,350 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Bancorpsouth Bank by 2.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,609,060 shares of the bank’s stock worth $281,516,000 after purchasing an additional 193,071 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc raised its position in shares of Bancorpsouth Bank by 2.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc now owns 8,609,060 shares of the bank’s stock worth $281,516,000 after purchasing an additional 193,071 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Bancorpsouth Bank by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,017,562 shares of the bank’s stock worth $105,019,000 after purchasing an additional 84,102 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Bancorpsouth Bank by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,248,852 shares of the bank’s stock worth $32,645,000 after purchasing an additional 29,666 shares during the period. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Bancorpsouth Bank

BancorpSouth Bank provides commercial banking and financial services to individuals and small-to-medium size businesses. It offers various deposit products, including interest and noninterest bearing demand deposits, and saving and other time deposits. The company also provides commercial loans, including term loans, lines of credit, equipment and receivable financing, and agricultural loans; a range of short-to-medium term secured and unsecured commercial loans to businesses for working capital, business expansion, and the purchase of equipment and machinery; and construction loans to real estate developers for the acquisition, development, and construction of residential subdivisions.

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