Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Tuesday.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Zacks Research cut Southern First Bancshares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Southern First Bancshares in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Southern First Bancshares from $54.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $64.00.

Southern First Bancshares Stock Performance

NASDAQ SFST opened at $58.80 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $54.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $48.17. Southern First Bancshares has a 12-month low of $29.14 and a 12-month high of $61.06. The company has a market capitalization of $483.34 million, a P/E ratio of 15.72 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The bank reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $1.69 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the business earned $0.70 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Southern First Bancshares will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Southern First Bancshares

In other news, Director David G. Ellison sold 1,000 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the director directly owned 49,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,645,938.08. The trade was a 1.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 7.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern First Bancshares

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lifted its stake in Southern First Bancshares by 40.2% in the fourth quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 666 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in Southern First Bancshares by 2.9% in the second quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 9,458 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $360,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 28.7% during 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 period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,754 shares of the bank’s stock worth $730,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern First Bancshares during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. 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.