Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.01 EPS

Posted by Brian Himes on Jul 21st, 2026

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST – Get Free Report) announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The bank reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.01, FiscalAI reports. The company had revenue of $20.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.30 million. Southern First Bancshares had a net margin of 15.21% and a return on equity of 9.65%.

Southern First Bancshares Stock Down 1.3%

NASDAQ SFST opened at $61.39 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $59.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $56.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market cap of $580.75 million, a PE ratio of 14.34 and a beta of 0.67. Southern First Bancshares has a 52 week low of $38.30 and a 52 week high of $64.06.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on SFST shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Southern First Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Southern First Bancshares from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern First Bancshares has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $64.00.

Get Our Latest Stock Report on SFST

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Leighton M. Cubbage sold 765 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.60, for a total transaction of $46,359.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 50,715 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,073,329. This trade represents a 1.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 6.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Southern First Bancshares

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 34,910 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,149,000 after buying an additional 890 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 66,603 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,193,000 after buying an additional 3,074 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 23.4% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 18,637 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $614,000 after buying an additional 3,532 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in Southern First Bancshares in the first quarter valued at approximately $303,000. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Southern First Bancshares by 14.2% in the second quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 41,850 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,592,000 after acquiring an additional 5,200 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.00% of the company’s stock.

Southern First Bancshares Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.