Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST) saw a large decline in short interest during the month of January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 54,500 shares, a decline of 15.6% from the January 15th total of 64,574 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 45,477 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.2 days. Approximately 0.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Approximately 0.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 45,477 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.2 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Southern First Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Southern First Bancshares from $54.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Southern First Bancshares in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Southern First Bancshares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $64.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern First Bancshares news, Director David G. Ellison sold 1,000 shares of Southern First Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.28, for a total transaction of $53,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 49,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,645,938.08. The trade was a 1.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 7.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its position in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 40.2% during the fourth quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 666 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new position in Southern First Bancshares during the third quarter valued at $38,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 28.7% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,380 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 154.0% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,633 shares of the bank’s stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 990 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Southern First Bancshares in the 2nd quarter worth about $75,000. Institutional investors own 75.00% of the company’s stock.

Southern First Bancshares Trading Up 1.4%

NASDAQ:SFST traded up $0.84 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $59.66. 56,829 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 48,835. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $54.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $48.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $490.17 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.95 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10. Southern First Bancshares has a 12-month low of $29.14 and a 12-month high of $61.06.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The bank reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $1.69 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.90 million. Southern First Bancshares had a return on equity of 8.76% and a net margin of 13.52%.During the same period last year, the company earned $0.70 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Southern First Bancshares will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern First Bancshares Company Profile

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.