Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Posted by Brenda Bartman on Jul 24th, 2026

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST – Free Report) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Southern First Bancshares from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Southern First Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern First Bancshares presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $64.00.

View Our Latest Research Report on SFST

Southern First Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SFST opened at $60.55 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $59.46 and its 200 day moving average is $57.09. The stock has a market cap of $572.80 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.97 and a beta of 0.67. Southern First Bancshares has a 1-year low of $38.30 and a 1-year high of $64.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The bank reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.01. Southern First Bancshares had a return on equity of 10.76% and a net margin of 16.78%.The business had revenue of $20.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.30 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Southern First Bancshares will post 5.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Leighton M. Cubbage sold 765 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.60, for a total transaction of $46,359.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 50,715 shares in the company, valued at $3,073,329. This trade represents a 1.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 6.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Southern First Bancshares

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SFST. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 8.6% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 12,143 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $662,000 after purchasing an additional 957 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 78.2% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 18,201 shares of the bank’s stock worth $992,000 after buying an additional 7,985 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Southern First Bancshares in the first quarter worth $398,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Southern First Bancshares by 9.1% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 27,241 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,485,000 after buying an additional 2,282 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its holdings in Southern First Bancshares by 55.0% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 15,615 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $851,000 after buying an additional 5,540 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.00% of the company’s stock.

About Southern First Bancshares

(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.