Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) Director Leighton Cubbage Sells 1,200 Shares

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST) Director Leighton Cubbage sold 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.26, for a total transaction of $74,712.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 47,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,932,446. This trade represents a 2.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Southern First Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SFST traded up $0.32 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $62.89. 73,997 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 111,501. Southern First Bancshares, Inc. has a twelve month low of $40.90 and a twelve month high of $65.09. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $62.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $58.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The company has a market cap of $594.94 million, a P/E ratio of 13.47 and a beta of 0.67.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) last announced 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 business had revenue of $20.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.30 million. Southern First Bancshares had a return on equity of 10.18% and a net margin of 16.78%. As a group, analysts forecast that Southern First Bancshares, Inc. will post 5.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern First Bancshares

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SFST. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its position in Southern First Bancshares by 2.9% during the 2nd 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 during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 28.7% in the 2nd 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 last quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 19,639 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,200,000 after buying an additional 435 shares during the period. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares during the third quarter worth approximately $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on SFST shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southern First Bancshares in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Southern First Bancshares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $64.00.

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.