Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $65.09 and last traded at $64.50, with a volume of 2107 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $64.10.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern First Bancshares in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Southern First Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Southern First Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern First Bancshares presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $64.00.

Southern First Bancshares Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $607.14 million, a P/E ratio of 13.74 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The business’s fifty day moving average is $61.34 and its 200 day moving average is $58.06.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The bank reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $20.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.30 million. Southern First Bancshares had a net margin of 16.78% and a return on equity of 10.18%. As a group, analysts forecast that Southern First Bancshares, Inc. will post 5.4 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Southern First Bancshares

In related news, CAO Julie Ann Fairchild sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total transaction of $94,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $327,600. This trade represents a 22.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Leighton M. Cubbage sold 765 shares of Southern First Bancshares stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.60, for a total value of $46,359.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 50,715 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,073,329. The trade was a 1.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 2,518 shares of company stock valued at $155,857. 6.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares in the second quarter valued at about $50,736,000. Walleye Capital LLC bought a new position in Southern First Bancshares in the second quarter worth $10,998,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in shares of Southern First Bancshares during the 2nd quarter worth about $5,343,000. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in Southern First Bancshares by 215.6% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 50,451 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,599,000 after purchasing an additional 34,466 shares during the period. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Southern First Bancshares in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,092,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.00% of the company’s stock.

About Southern First Bancshares

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.