Key Points
- Director David Ellison sold 1,000 shares on Dec. 10 at an average price of $53.28 for $53,280, reducing his stake by 1.97% to 49,661 shares.
- The bank beat quarterly estimates with EPS of $1.07 vs. $0.89 consensus and $31.13M revenue, and the stock trades near its 52‑week high (recently $55.20) with a MarketBeat consensus rating of Buy.
- Institutional investors hold about 75% of the shares; the company has a market cap around $452M, a P/E of 17.09, and recent intraday trading showed a 0.9% uptick on slightly above‑average volume.
Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST - Get Free Report) Director David Ellison sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.28, for a total value of $53,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 49,661 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,645,938.08. The trade was a 1.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.
Southern First Bancshares Trading Up 0.9%
SFST traded up $0.52 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $55.20. The company's stock had a trading volume of 24,082 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,872. Southern First Bancshares, Inc. has a 52-week low of $29.14 and a 52-week high of $56.10. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $46.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market cap of $452.06 million, a P/E ratio of 17.09 and a beta of 0.76.
Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The bank reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.18. Southern First Bancshares had a net margin of 11.83% and a return on equity of 7.63%. The business had revenue of $31.13 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $30.20 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that Southern First Bancshares, Inc. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern First Bancshares
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 0.7% during the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 802,974 shares of the bank's stock valued at $26,434,000 after purchasing an additional 5,931 shares during the period. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Southern First Bancshares in the first quarter valued at $448,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Southern First Bancshares by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 101,461 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,340,000 after purchasing an additional 3,902 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Southern First Bancshares during the 2nd quarter worth $654,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Southern First Bancshares in the 1st quarter worth $616,000. 75.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several brokerages have commented on SFST. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Southern First Bancshares in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Southern First Bancshares from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, November 30th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Southern First Bancshares from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $51.00.
View Our Latest Stock Analysis on SFST
Southern First Bancshares Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
Southern First Bancshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Southern First Bank that provides commercial, consumer, and mortgage loans to the general public in South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia. The company accepts various deposit products that include checking accounts, commercial checking accounts, and savings accounts, as well as other time deposits, including daily money market accounts and long-term certificates of deposit.
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