Empowered Funds LLC Purchases Shares of 29,227 Southern First Bancshares, Inc. $SFST

Posted by Brenda Bartman on Sep 4th, 2026

Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST – Free Report) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 29,227 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $1,786,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its position in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 40.2% during the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 666 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 9,458 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $360,000 after buying an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in Southern First Bancshares by 28.7% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,380 shares of the bank’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new stake in Southern First Bancshares in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in Southern First Bancshares in the second quarter worth approximately $54,000. Institutional investors own 75.00% of the company’s stock.

Southern First Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of Southern First Bancshares stock opened at $62.89 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $594.94 million, a PE ratio of 13.47 and a beta of 0.67. Southern First Bancshares, Inc. has a 12-month low of $40.90 and a 12-month high of $65.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $62.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $58.61.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The bank reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $20.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.30 million. Southern First Bancshares had a net margin of 16.78% and a return on equity of 10.18%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Southern First Bancshares, Inc. will post 5.4 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on SFST shares. Zacks Research cut shares of Southern First Bancshares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern First Bancshares in a report on Friday, July 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $64.00.

View Our Latest Analysis on Southern First Bancshares

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Julie Fairchild sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total transaction of $94,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 5,200 shares in the company, valued at $327,600. The trade was a 22.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Leighton Cubbage sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.79, for a total value of $31,395.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 46,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,926,014. The trade was a 1.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 6,633 shares of company stock worth $413,096 over the last three months. 6.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Southern First Bancshares

(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.