Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $62.00 and last traded at $61.44, with a volume of 4096 shares. The stock had previously closed at $61.08.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Southern First Bancshares Stock Down 0.1%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $501.62 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.26 and a beta of 0.77. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $55.57 and its 200-day moving average is $49.34.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Southern First Bancshares

In other news, Director David G. Ellison sold 1,000 shares of Southern First Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.28, for a total value of $53,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 49,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,645,938.08. The trade was a 1.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 7.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 191 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new position in Southern First Bancshares during the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew 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 purchasing an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 154.0% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,633 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 990 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares during the second quarter valued at approximately $75,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.00% of the company’s stock.

About Southern First Bancshares

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.