Quantbot Technologies LP Makes New $992,000 Investment in Southern First Bancshares, Inc. $SFST

Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 16,229 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $992,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares in the second quarter worth $50,736,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Southern First Bancshares by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 431,814 shares of the bank’s stock worth $19,052,000 after purchasing an additional 10,741 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Southern First Bancshares by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 380,368 shares of the bank’s stock worth $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 about $10,998,000. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Southern First Bancshares by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 164,986 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,500,000 after buying an additional 4,302 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on SFST shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern First Bancshares in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Zacks Research lowered Southern First Bancshares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Southern First Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $64.00.

Insider Transactions at Southern First Bancshares

In other news, CAO Julie Ann Fairchild sold 1,500 shares of Southern First Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total value 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 approximately $327,600. This trade represents a 22.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Leighton M. Cubbage sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.02, for a total value of $50,416.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 49,915 shares in the company, valued at $3,145,643.30. This represents a 1.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,318 shares of company stock valued at $206,273. Company insiders own 6.90% of the company’s stock.

Southern First Bancshares Trading Down 0.2%

SFST opened at $61.97 on Thursday. Southern First Bancshares, Inc. has a twelve month low of $40.90 and a twelve month high of $65.09. The company has a fifty day moving average of $61.86 and a 200-day moving average of $58.47. The stock has a market cap of $586.24 million, a PE ratio of 13.27 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) last released 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 business had revenue of $20.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.30 million. Southern First Bancshares had a net margin of 16.78% and a return on equity of 10.18%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Southern First Bancshares, Inc. will post 5.4 EPS for the current year.

Southern First Bancshares 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.