Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) Insider Sells $158,786.25 in Stock

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST) insider Silvia King sold 2,625 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.49, for a total value of $158,786.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 3,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $239,721.87. This trade represents a 39.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Southern First Bancshares Trading Down 7.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:SFST opened at $55.84 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $55.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $49.62. Southern First Bancshares, Inc. has a 1 year low of $29.14 and a 1 year high of $62.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $459.56 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.93 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The bank reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $1.69 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.90 million. Southern First Bancshares had a net margin of 13.52% and a return on equity of 8.63%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.70 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Southern First Bancshares, Inc. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Southern First Bancshares from $54.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Southern First Bancshares in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Southern First Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Southern First Bancshares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $64.00.

Institutional Trading of Southern First Bancshares

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SFST. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 40.2% during the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 666 shares of the bank’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new stake in Southern First Bancshares during the third quarter worth about $38,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in Southern First Bancshares by 28.7% during 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 during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 990 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 111.3% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,714 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 903 shares during the period. 75.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern First Bancshares Company Profile

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.