Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) Sets New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $62.50 and last traded at $61.90, with a volume of 13623 shares. The stock had previously closed at $61.10.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on SFST. Weiss Ratings upgraded Southern First Bancshares from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $64.00.

Southern First Bancshares Trading Down 2.1%

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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $58.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $56.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $578.86 million, a PE ratio of 14.30 and a beta of 0.67.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The bank reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.20 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $32.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.10 million. Southern First Bancshares had a return on equity of 9.65% and a net margin of 15.21%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Southern First Bancshares, Inc. will post 5.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Southern First Bancshares

In other Southern First Bancshares news, Director Leighton M. Cubbage sold 765 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $3,073,329. This trade represents a 1.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 6.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 40.2% in the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 666 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in Southern First Bancshares in the third quarter worth $38,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings 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 worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position 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 valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 990 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares during the 2nd quarter valued at $75,000. Institutional investors 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.