Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST) Short Interest Update

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 120,699 shares, a growth of 47.5% from the February 26th total of 81,851 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 97,320 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.2 days. Currently, 1.6% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Southern First Bancshares Stock Performance

NASDAQ SFST opened at $53.48 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $440.14 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.30 and a beta of 0.75. The business’s 50 day moving average is $55.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $50.90. Southern First Bancshares has a 12-month low of $29.14 and a 12-month high of $62.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The bank reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.10. Southern First Bancshares had a return on equity of 8.63% and a net margin of 13.52%.The business had revenue of $1.69 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.90 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.70 EPS. Research analysts expect that Southern First Bancshares will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SFST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Southern First Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Southern First Bancshares in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Southern First Bancshares from $54.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Southern First Bancshares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $64.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Silvia T. King sold 2,625 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.49, for a total value of $158,786.25. Following the transaction, the insider owned 3,963 shares in the company, valued at $239,721.87. The trade was a 39.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 7.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern First Bancshares

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 24,959 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,286,000 after purchasing an additional 2,358 shares during the period. Zacks Investment Management lifted its stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 19.7% in the fourth quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 56,985 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,936,000 after purchasing an additional 9,377 shares during the period. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares in the fourth quarter valued at about $220,000. Azora Capital LP purchased a new stake in Southern First Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth about $645,000. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Southern First Bancshares by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 54,352 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,800,000 after buying an additional 2,358 shares in the last quarter. 75.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern First Bancshares Company Profile

Southern First Bancshares is the bank holding company for Southern First Bank, a community-oriented financial institution headquartered in Greenville, South Carolina. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, the company delivers a full spectrum of commercial and consumer banking services designed to meet the needs of small and midsize businesses, professionals, and individual customers. Southern First Bancshares operates under a relationship-driven model, emphasizing personalized service and local decision–making.

The company’s core offerings include deposit products such as checking, savings, money market accounts and certificates of deposit, alongside an array of lending solutions covering commercial real estate, construction, equipment financing and small business administration (SBA) loans.