BancorpSouth Buys FNS For $108M

BancorpSouth Bank has agreed to buy FNS Bancshares, Inc. for $108.4 million, or $90.04 per share of FNS common stock, with the deal expected to close in the first half of 2021. FNS is the parent company of FNB Bank.

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BancorpSouth (BXS) will pay $18 million in cash and issue 2,975,000 shares of common stock for all outstanding FNS shares, after which, FNS will be merged with and into BancorpSouth, and FNS CEO, Steve Rownd, will serve as a BancorpSouth division president.

The merger will celebrate BancorpSouth’s entrance into Georgia as FNS currently operates 17 full banking offices in Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee.

BancorpSouth Chairman and CEO, Dan Rollins, said, “FNS is a 120-year-old institution with deep ties in its local markets and is an ideal fit with our culture as a relationship-driven community bank. We’re looking forward to working with its experienced team of bankers to assist even more families and businesses with their banking needs.” (See BXS stock analysis on TipRanks)

Stephens analyst Matt Olney reiterated his Buy rating on BXS last month and set his price target to $28. This implies downside potential of around 7% from current levels.

Commenting after BancorpSouth’s announcement that it had bought National United Bancshares in December, Olney said that given the size of the deal, he didn’t think that the acquisition would prevent BancorpSouth from making additional acquisitions.

Consensus among analysts is a Hold based on 1 Buy and 5 Holds. The average price target of $27.20 suggests downside potential of around 10% over the next 12 months.

News Sentiment for BancorpSouth over the past seven days is Very Bullish, with 100% of news articles being Bullish compared to a sector average of 66%.