Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) Hits New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST) reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $63.90 and last traded at $63.85, with a volume of 47032 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $61.80.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SFST has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded Southern First Bancshares from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Wall Street Zen lowered Southern First Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southern First Bancshares has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $64.00.

Southern First Bancshares Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10. The company has a market cap of $588.41 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.53 and a beta of 0.67. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $59.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.80.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The bank reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.20 by ($0.01). Southern First Bancshares had a net margin of 15.21% and a return on equity of 9.65%. The business had revenue of $32.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.10 million. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Southern First Bancshares, Inc. will post 5.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Southern First Bancshares

In other news, Director Leighton M. Cubbage sold 765 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.60, for a total value of $46,359.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 50,715 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,073,329. This trade represents a 1.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 6.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Southern First Bancshares

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased 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 worth $34,000 after buying an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new position in Southern First Bancshares in the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in Southern First Bancshares by 28.7% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,380 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 154.0% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares during the second quarter worth about $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.