Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) Raised to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Sunday.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on SFST. Zacks Research downgraded Southern First Bancshares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Southern First Bancshares in a research report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $51.00.

Southern First Bancshares Stock Up 0.1%

SFST stock opened at $54.04 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $442.59 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.45 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a 50-day moving average of $52.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $46.80. Southern First Bancshares has a 52-week low of $29.14 and a 52-week high of $58.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The bank reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.10. Southern First Bancshares had a return on equity of 8.76% and a net margin of 13.52%.The business had revenue of $1.69 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.90 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.70 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Southern First Bancshares will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Southern First Bancshares

In related news, Director David G. Ellison sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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. This represents a 1.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 525 shares of company stock valued at $23,011. Insiders own 7.06% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern First Bancshares

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SFST. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern First Bancshares during the fourth quarter valued at $115,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 26.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,760 shares of the bank’s stock worth $342,000 after purchasing an additional 1,623 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Southern First Bancshares by 45.6% during the 3rd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 14,930 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $659,000 after purchasing an additional 4,673 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd acquired a new position in Southern First Bancshares in the third quarter valued at about $457,000. Institutional investors own 75.00% of the company’s stock.

Southern First Bancshares Company Profile

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.