Key Points
- Julie Ann Fairchild sold 1,500 Southern First Bancshares shares at an average price of $63, generating $94,500. Her remaining direct ownership fell to 5,200 shares, a 22.39% reduction.
- SFST shares opened at $64.12 and were up 1.1%, near their 12-month high of $64.97. The company reported quarterly EPS of $1.20, slightly above the $1.19 consensus estimate.
- Institutional investors own approximately 75% of the company, while analyst sentiment remains positive with an average “Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $64.00.
Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST - Get Free Report) CAO Julie Ann Fairchild sold 1,500 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,200 shares of the company's stock, valued at $327,600. This represents a 22.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.
Southern First Bancshares Trading Up 1.1%
Shares of SFST stock opened at $64.12 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $606.58 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.73 and a beta of 0.68. Southern First Bancshares, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.60 and a 12-month high of $64.97. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $60.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $57.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.
Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The bank reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $20.40 million for 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 10.76%. Equities research analysts predict that Southern First Bancshares, Inc. will post 5.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern First Bancshares
Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 2.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 431,814 shares of the bank's stock valued at $19,052,000 after purchasing an additional 10,741 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Southern First Bancshares by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 380,368 shares of the bank's stock valued at $20,730,000 after purchasing an additional 2,657 shares during the last quarter. Walleye Capital LLC acquired a new position in Southern First Bancshares during the 2nd quarter worth $10,998,000. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 164,986 shares of the bank's stock valued at $8,500,000 after acquiring an additional 4,302 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 17.7% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 150,607 shares of the bank's stock worth $8,208,000 after purchasing an additional 22,700 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.00% of the company's stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
SFST has been the topic of a number of research reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Southern First Bancshares from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Southern First Bancshares in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Southern First Bancshares from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern First Bancshares presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $64.00.
View Our Latest Report on Southern First Bancshares
Southern First Bancshares Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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