Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 7,542 Shares of ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. $SFBS

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System cut its holdings in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS) by 51.1% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 7,224 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,542 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in ServisFirst Bancshares were worth $582,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SFBS. Champlain Investment Partners LLC raised its position in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 15.7% during the second quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,566,528 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $198,932,000 after purchasing an additional 349,177 shares during the period. Welch Group LLC grew its position in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 983,776 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $79,223,000 after purchasing an additional 9,618 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in ServisFirst Bancshares by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 762,392 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $59,093,000 after purchasing an additional 47,926 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in ServisFirst Bancshares during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $47,309,000. Finally, Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. raised its holdings in ServisFirst Bancshares by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 514,203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,409,000 after buying an additional 48,993 shares during the period. 67.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ServisFirst Bancshares Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of ServisFirst Bancshares stock opened at $86.67 on Friday. ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. has a 12-month low of $66.48 and a 12-month high of $93.90. The stock has a market cap of $4.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.13 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The business’s 50 day moving average is $73.73 and its 200-day moving average is $77.88.

ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The financial services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $162.21 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $151.82 million. ServisFirst Bancshares had a net margin of 26.95% and a return on equity of 16.36%. Equities research analysts predict that ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ServisFirst Bancshares Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. This is a boost from ServisFirst Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. ServisFirst Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Hovde Group raised shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $89.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of ServisFirst Bancshares in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research upgraded ServisFirst Bancshares from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Piper Sandler raised ServisFirst Bancshares from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $89.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Raymond James Financial upgraded ServisFirst Bancshares from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $95.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.00.

Key ServisFirst Bancshares News

Here are the key news stories impacting ServisFirst Bancshares this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 earnings beat — SFBS reported Q4 results that topped consensus (EPS and revenue outperformance) and management highlighted margin expansion and disciplined loan pricing as drivers of earnings upside. This is the primary catalyst for the stock’s positive bias after the print. ServisFirst Bancshares Q4 2025 earnings call transcript
• Positive Sentiment: Loan growth and NIM expansion — Management and analysts highlighted ~12% annualized loan growth in Q4, C&I loan growth, and net interest margin expansion (reported NIM improvement) driven by loan pricing, higher fee income and deposit-cost control. Those core banking metrics point to sustainable earnings improvement. Why ServisFirst Bancshares Remains One Of My Preferred Regional Banks
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades — Raymond James moved SFBS to “strong-buy” with a $95 target and Piper Sandler upgraded to “overweight” with an $89 target. Upgrades and higher targets support further upside and likely amplified buying after the quarterly release. Analyst upgrade coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Depth of coverage and management commentary — Multiple transcripts and deep-dive pieces summarize management’s plan to push into Texas and sustain margin gains; these items are informational and reinforce the earnings message but do not introduce new surprises. SFBS Q4 deep dive
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and near-term upside limits — With a P/E around 17 and the stock trading close to its 52‑week high, some investors may be cautious about near-term multiple expansion; elevated expectations set by the beat and upgrades increase the bar for future quarters. (Background data: market metrics and recent trading range.)

About ServisFirst Bancshares

ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, and the parent of ServisFirst Bank. The company specializes in commercial banking services, catering primarily to small and mid-sized businesses, professionals and entrepreneurs. Its product portfolio encompasses commercial real estate lending, commercial and industrial loans, deposit accounts, treasury management and other ancillary banking products designed to meet the financial needs of its clients.

ServisFirst Bank offers a full suite of deposit products, including interest-bearing checking, money market accounts and certificates of deposit, as well as a variety of loan products.