Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST – Get Free Report)’s stock price were down 3.2% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $60.67 and last traded at $61.4670. Approximately 4,805 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 96% from the average daily volume of 110,532 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.52.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of research analysts recently commented on SFST shares. Zacks Research downgraded 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 research note on Friday, July 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $64.00.
Read Our Latest Report on SFST
Southern First Bancshares Trading Down 0.2%
Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 10.18% and a net margin of 16.78%.The firm had revenue of $20.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.30 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Southern First Bancshares, Inc. will post 5.4 earnings per share for the current year.
Insider Activity at Southern First Bancshares
In other Southern First Bancshares news, Director Leighton Cubbage sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.79, for a total transaction of $31,395.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 46,600 shares in the company, valued at $2,926,014. This trade represents a 1.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Julie Fairchild sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total value of $94,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $327,600. This represents a 22.39% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 5,868 shares of company stock valued at $366,737. Corporate insiders own 6.90% of the company’s stock.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern First Bancshares
Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Southern First Bancshares in the second quarter valued at approximately $50,736,000. Walleye Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares in the 2nd quarter valued at $10,998,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares in the 2nd quarter valued at $5,619,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in shares of Southern First Bancshares in the 2nd quarter valued at $5,343,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in shares of Southern First Bancshares during the 2nd quarter worth $3,022,000. 75.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Southern First Bancshares Company Profile
Southern First Bancshares, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Greenville, South Carolina. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, Southern First Bank, the company provides banking and financial services to individuals, businesses and professional organizations.
Southern First Bank offers a range of deposit products, commercial and consumer loans, residential mortgage lending, treasury management and online and mobile banking services. Its lending activities include commercial real estate, business, construction, residential and consumer loans, while its deposit offerings include checking, savings and money market accounts, certificates of deposit and other related products.
Founded in 1999, Southern First has built a community-banking presence in markets across South Carolina and North Carolina, including the Greenville, Columbia and Charleston areas and the Charlotte and Raleigh markets.
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