Insider Selling: Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) Director Sells $25,200.00 in Stock

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST) Director Leighton Cubbage sold 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total value of $25,200.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 49,515 shares in the company, valued at $3,119,445. This represents a 0.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Southern First Bancshares Trading Up 0.1%

NASDAQ:SFST opened at $62.26 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $588.98 million, a PE ratio of 13.33 and a beta of 0.68. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $62.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.51. Southern First Bancshares, Inc. has a 12-month low of $40.90 and a 12-month high of $65.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The bank reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $20.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.30 million. Southern First Bancshares had a return on equity of 10.18% and a net margin of 16.78%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Southern First Bancshares, Inc. will post 5.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SFST. Zacks Research lowered shares of Southern First Bancshares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern First Bancshares in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southern First Bancshares currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $64.00.

Institutional Trading of Southern First Bancshares

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its position in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 40.2% during the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 666 shares of the bank’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in Southern First Bancshares by 28.7% during the second 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. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in Southern First Bancshares during the second quarter worth approximately $54,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in 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 worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 990 shares during the last quarter. 75.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.