Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC Takes Position in Southern First Bancshares, Inc. $SFST

Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 9,113 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $557,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Southern First Bancshares during the second quarter worth about $50,736,000. Walleye Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares in the second quarter valued at about $10,998,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares during the 2nd quarter valued at about $5,619,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares during the 2nd quarter valued at about $5,343,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in Southern First Bancshares during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,022,000. 75.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Julie Ann Fairchild sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total value of $94,500.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $327,600. This represents a 22.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Leighton M. Cubbage sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total transaction of $25,200.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 48,765 shares in the company, valued at $3,072,195. This trade represents a 0.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,468 shares of company stock valued at $278,740. Insiders own 6.90% of the company’s stock.

Southern First Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SFST opened at $62.57 on Thursday. Southern First Bancshares, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $40.90 and a fifty-two week high of $65.09. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $62.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $58.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm has a market cap of $591.91 million, a PE ratio of 13.40 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $20.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 expect that Southern First Bancshares, Inc. will post 5.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.