Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) was upgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Weiss Ratings raised Southern First Bancshares from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Wall Street Zen lowered Southern First Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $64.00.

Southern First Bancshares Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ SFST opened at $60.55 on Wednesday. Southern First Bancshares has a 1 year low of $38.30 and a 1 year high of $64.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $59.46 and a 200 day moving average of $57.09. The stock has a market cap of $572.80 million, a P/E ratio of 12.97 and a beta of 0.67.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The bank reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $20.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.30 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Southern First Bancshares will post 5.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Southern First Bancshares

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of SFST. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew 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 buying an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new position in Southern First Bancshares in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in Southern First Bancshares by 154.0% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,633 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 990 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Southern First Bancshares in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $75,000. 75.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.