Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,053,473 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,916 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 1.93% of ServisFirst Bancshares worth $89,277,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its holdings in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 5,569 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $448,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC increased its holdings in ServisFirst Bancshares by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 7,345 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $622,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its holdings in ServisFirst Bancshares by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 3,383 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $272,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. increased its holdings in ServisFirst Bancshares by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 4,853 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $390,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cottonwood Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in ServisFirst Bancshares by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. Cottonwood Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,141 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 378 shares in the last quarter. 67.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ServisFirst Bancshares Price Performance

ServisFirst Bancshares stock opened at $90.36 on Wednesday. ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. has a 52-week low of $58.10 and a 52-week high of $101.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.72 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $88.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $85.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.08. ServisFirst Bancshares had a net margin of 23.16% and a return on equity of 14.81%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.91 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. will post 5.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ServisFirst Bancshares Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were given a dividend of $0.335 per share. This is a boost from ServisFirst Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $1.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. ServisFirst Bancshares’s payout ratio is presently 32.21%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on SFBS. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Hovde Group boosted their price target on shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from $80.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, January 5th.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Christopher J. Mettler sold 18,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.68, for a total transaction of $1,596,240.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 17,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,546,224.48. The trade was a 50.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 7.40% of the company’s stock.

About ServisFirst Bancshares

ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for ServisFirst Bank that provides various banking services to individual and corporate customers. It accepts demand, time, savings, and other deposits; checking, money market, and IRA accounts; and certificates of deposit. The company's loan products include commercial lending products, including seasonal, bridge, and term loans for working capital, expansion of the business, acquisition of property, and plant and equipment, as well as commercial lines of credit; commercial real estate loans, construction and development loans, and residential real estate loans; and consumer loans, such as home equity loans, vehicle financing, loans secured by deposits, and secured and unsecured personal loans.