ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) Sets New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $100.21 and last traded at $100.08, with a volume of 12311 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $96.64.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on SFBS shares. Hovde Group increased their price objective on shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from $80.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered ServisFirst Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday.

ServisFirst Bancshares Trading Up 2.4 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $5.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.84 and a beta of 0.86. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $85.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $75.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $256.53 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $120.70 million. ServisFirst Bancshares had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 14.23%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.98 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. will post 4.09 EPS for the current year.

ServisFirst Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 1st. ServisFirst Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at ServisFirst Bancshares

In related news, COO Rodney Eldon Rushing sold 12,000 shares of ServisFirst Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.58, for a total transaction of $966,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 307,837 shares in the company, valued at $24,805,505.46. This trade represents a 3.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Henry Fulbrook Abbott sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.20, for a total transaction of $85,200.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,501 shares in the company, valued at approximately $724,285.20. This trade represents a 10.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 7.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ServisFirst Bancshares

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cetera Investment Advisers purchased a new position in ServisFirst Bancshares during the 1st quarter worth $2,125,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,230,925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $77,775,000 after purchasing an additional 36,302 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC lifted its holdings in ServisFirst Bancshares by 286.8% in the 2nd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 64,066 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,048,000 after purchasing an additional 47,502 shares in the last quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 42.2% in the second quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 156,633 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,898,000 after buying an additional 46,469 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $408,000. 67.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ServisFirst Bancshares Company Profile

ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for ServisFirst Bank that provides various banking services to individual and corporate customers. It accepts demand, time, savings, and other deposits; checking, money market, and IRA accounts; and certificates of deposit. The company's loan products include commercial lending products, including seasonal, bridge, and term loans for working capital, expansion of the business, acquisition of property, and plant and equipment, as well as commercial lines of credit; commercial real estate loans, construction and development loans, and residential real estate loans; and consumer loans, such as home equity loans, vehicle financing, loans secured by deposits, and secured and unsecured personal loans.