ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) Reaches New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $91.99 and last traded at $90.6070, with a volume of 7763 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $90.45.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SFBS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $95.33.

ServisFirst Bancshares Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $85.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $81.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The company has a market cap of $4.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.48 and a beta of 0.86.

ServisFirst Bancshares’s stock is scheduled to split on Friday, August 21st. The 2-1 split was announced on Monday, July 20th. The newly issued shares will be payable to shareholders after the closing bell on Thursday, August 20th.

ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 20th. The financial services provider reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57. The business had revenue of $168.53 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.85 million. ServisFirst Bancshares had a return on equity of 17.42% and a net margin of 30.95%. Analysts predict that ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. will post 6.46 EPS for the current year.

ServisFirst Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 1st were given a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 1st. ServisFirst Bancshares’s payout ratio is presently 25.89%.

Institutional Trading of ServisFirst Bancshares

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SFBS. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its position in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 523.6% in the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 343 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in ServisFirst Bancshares during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in ServisFirst Bancshares during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in ServisFirst Bancshares in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new stake in ServisFirst Bancshares in the second quarter valued at approximately $43,000. 67.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About ServisFirst Bancshares

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.