Welch Group LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. $SFBS

Welch Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS) by 1.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 983,776 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 9,618 shares during the quarter. ServisFirst Bancshares makes up 3.1% of Welch Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Welch Group LLC owned 1.80% of ServisFirst Bancshares worth $79,223,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 6.3% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,094 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $162,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 5,271 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $409,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 28,507 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,210,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Wallace Advisory Group LLC grew its position in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Wallace Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,852 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $318,000 after buying an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moody National Bank Trust Division increased its stake in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 5.6% during the second quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 3,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $233,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the period. 67.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

ServisFirst Bancshares Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of ServisFirst Bancshares stock opened at $74.31 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company has a market cap of $4.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.91 and a beta of 0.94. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $72.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.00. ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. has a 52-week low of $66.48 and a 52-week high of $93.90.

ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 10th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter. ServisFirst Bancshares had a net margin of 25.24% and a return on equity of 15.67%. The company had revenue of $104.27 million during the quarter. On average, sell-side analysts predict that ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. will post 5.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ServisFirst Bancshares Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 2nd will be given a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 2nd. This is a positive change from ServisFirst Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. ServisFirst Bancshares’s payout ratio is 28.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SFBS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of ServisFirst Bancshares in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from $90.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Hovde Group raised shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $89.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded ServisFirst Bancshares from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $88.00.

ServisFirst Bancshares Profile

ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, and the parent of ServisFirst Bank. The company specializes in commercial banking services, catering primarily to small and mid-sized businesses, professionals and entrepreneurs. Its product portfolio encompasses commercial real estate lending, commercial and industrial loans, deposit accounts, treasury management and other ancillary banking products designed to meet the financial needs of its clients.

ServisFirst Bank offers a full suite of deposit products, including interest-bearing checking, money market accounts and certificates of deposit, as well as a variety of loan products.