Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) Rating Lowered to Hold at Zacks Research

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

SFST has been the topic of several other reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Southern First Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Southern First Bancshares in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.00.

Southern First Bancshares Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ SFST opened at $52.21 on Tuesday. Southern First Bancshares has a 52 week low of $29.14 and a 52 week high of $56.73. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $50.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a market cap of $427.60 million, a P/E ratio of 16.16 and a beta of 0.74.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The bank reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.18. Southern First Bancshares had a return on equity of 7.63% and a net margin of 11.83%.The firm had revenue of $31.13 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.20 million. Research analysts anticipate that Southern First Bancshares will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Southern First Bancshares

In related news, Director David G. Ellison sold 1,000 shares of Southern First Bancshares stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.28, for a total value of $53,280.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 49,661 shares in the company, valued at $2,645,938.08. This trade represents a 1.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 525 shares of company stock worth $23,011. 7.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern First Bancshares in the third quarter worth about $38,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in Southern First Bancshares by 28.7% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,380 shares of the bank’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in Southern First Bancshares by 154.0% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,633 shares of the bank’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 990 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its stake in Southern First Bancshares by 111.3% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,714 shares of the bank’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 903 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Southern First Bancshares in the second quarter valued at approximately $75,000. 75.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.