Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) Trading Down 4.4% – Here’s Why

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST) fell 4.4% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $58.45 and last traded at $58.70. Approximately 10,609 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 91% from the average session volume of 111,827 shares. The stock had previously closed at $61.39.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SFST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Southern First Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Southern First Bancshares from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern First Bancshares presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $64.00.

Southern First Bancshares Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $570.82 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $57.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The bank reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.01. Southern First Bancshares had a net margin of 16.78% and a return on equity of 10.76%. The company had revenue of $20.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.30 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Southern First Bancshares, Inc. will post 5.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southern First Bancshares news, Director Leighton M. Cubbage sold 765 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 6.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Southern First Bancshares

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Southern First Bancshares by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 431,814 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $19,052,000 after buying an additional 10,741 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Southern First Bancshares by 0.7% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 380,368 shares of the bank’s stock worth $20,730,000 after acquiring an additional 2,657 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Southern First Bancshares by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 164,986 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $8,500,000 after acquiring an additional 4,302 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in Southern First Bancshares by 17.7% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 150,607 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $8,208,000 after acquiring an additional 22,700 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 77,980 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,018,000 after acquiring an additional 7,882 shares in the last quarter. 75.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.