ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.01 EPS

ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) announced its earnings results on Monday, April 20th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.01, Zacks reports. ServisFirst Bancshares had a return on equity of 16.95% and a net margin of 28.80%.The company had revenue of $158.99 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $162.07 million.

Here are the key takeaways from ServisFirst Bancshares’ conference call:

• Reported Q1 net income of $83 million (EPS $1.52, +33% YoY), with net interest margin expanding to 3.53%, return on assets ~1.89%, and an efficiency ratio below 30%.
• Loan growth was solid at 7% annualized, loan payoffs have diminished, and management highlights a roughly $2 billion near-term repricing opportunity plus $2.9 billion of low-rate loans maturing over the next three years.
• Deposits grew about 8% annualized while average interest-bearing deposit cost fell to 2.79%, and liquidity is strong with $1.84 billion in cash and no FHLB or brokered funding.
• Credit saw net charge-offs of roughly $8.3 million largely tied to one troubled borrower, allowance-to-loans remained at 1.25%, NPAs rose slightly to 1.00% but management expects about $17 million of near-term NPA reductions.
• Efficiency remains best-in-class below 30%, however salary expense rose from Texas hiring and payroll seasonality as the firm builds a Texas franchise (leased 26,000 sq ft; 18 bankers onboard), with management forecasting mid- to high-single-digit expense growth as investments scale.

ServisFirst Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SFBS traded down $1.54 during trading on Monday, hitting $80.85. 169,073 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 292,587. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.92 and a beta of 0.88. ServisFirst Bancshares has a one year low of $67.20 and a one year high of $90.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The business’s fifty day moving average is $77.76 and its 200-day moving average is $77.47.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ServisFirst Bancshares

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in ServisFirst Bancshares by 17.2% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 16,815 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,390,000 after purchasing an additional 2,465 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in ServisFirst Bancshares by 70.9% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 8,989 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $742,000 after buying an additional 3,730 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in ServisFirst Bancshares by 4.5% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 30,194 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,494,000 after acquiring an additional 1,308 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in ServisFirst Bancshares by 107.3% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 146,442 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,096,000 after acquiring an additional 75,799 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new stake in ServisFirst Bancshares in the 1st quarter valued at about $204,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on SFBS. Wall Street Zen raised ServisFirst Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Hovde Group increased their price objective on ServisFirst Bancshares from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on ServisFirst Bancshares from $89.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.33.

ServisFirst Bancshares Company Profile

ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, and the parent of ServisFirst Bank. The company specializes in commercial banking services, catering primarily to small and mid-sized businesses, professionals and entrepreneurs. Its product portfolio encompasses commercial real estate lending, commercial and industrial loans, deposit accounts, treasury management and other ancillary banking products designed to meet the financial needs of its clients.

ServisFirst Bank offers a full suite of deposit products, including interest-bearing checking, money market accounts and certificates of deposit, as well as a variety of loan products.