Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) Director Buys $20,940.00 in Stock

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST) Director William Iv Maner purchased 400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $52.35 per share, with a total value of $20,940.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 3,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $187,674.75. This represents a 12.56% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Southern First Bancshares Stock Down 1.6%

SFST stock opened at $52.39 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $55.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $50.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $431.17 million, a P/E ratio of 14.01 and a beta of 0.75. Southern First Bancshares, Inc. has a one year low of $29.14 and a one year high of $62.00.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The bank reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.90 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.70 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Southern First Bancshares, Inc. will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research cut Southern First Bancshares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Southern First Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Southern First Bancshares from $54.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Southern First Bancshares in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $64.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern First Bancshares

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its position in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 40.2% during the fourth quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 666 shares of the bank’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new stake in Southern First Bancshares during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 28.7% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,380 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 154.0% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,633 shares of the bank’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 990 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares in the second quarter worth $75,000. 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.