ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS) Receives Average Recommendation of "Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a “Buy” consensus on ServisFirst Bancshares, with three buy ratings, one strong-buy rating and one hold rating. The average 12-month price target is $47.67, above the reported $41.98 share price.
• ServisFirst reported quarterly EPS of $0.78, matching estimates, while revenue of $168.53 million exceeded forecasts. Analysts expect full-year EPS of $3.23.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.19, equivalent to $0.76 annually and a 1.8% yield; institutional investors own 67.31% of its stock.

ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Buy" from the five ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $47.6667.

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded ServisFirst Bancshares from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Wall Street Zen cut ServisFirst Bancshares from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on ServisFirst Bancshares from $45.50 to $47.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st.

ServisFirst Bancshares Stock Performance

NYSE SFBS opened at $41.98 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.30 and a beta of 0.85. The company's fifty day moving average is $43.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.76. ServisFirst Bancshares has a 52-week low of $33.60 and a 52-week high of $46.04.

ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.78. ServisFirst Bancshares had a net margin of 30.95% and a return on equity of 17.42%. The business had revenue of $168.53 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.85 million. Equities research analysts forecast that ServisFirst Bancshares will post 3.23 EPS for the current year.

ServisFirst Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 1st will be paid a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 1st. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. ServisFirst Bancshares's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.94%.

Institutional Trading of ServisFirst Bancshares

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares in the 2nd quarter worth about $670,908,000. Davis Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares in the second quarter valued at approximately $78,975,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares in the 1st quarter worth approximately $54,879,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares in the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,908,000. Finally, Arete Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in ServisFirst Bancshares during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,348,000. Institutional investors own 67.31% of the company's stock.

ServisFirst Bancshares Company Profile

ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama. Its principal subsidiary, ServisFirst Bank, provides banking and financial services to businesses, professionals and individuals.

ServisFirst Bank offers commercial and consumer lending, deposit accounts, cash and treasury management, online and mobile banking, mortgage services, and wealth management solutions. Its lending activities include commercial real estate, construction, commercial and industrial, residential mortgage and consumer loans.

Founded in 2005, ServisFirst Bancshares has expanded its banking operations across several Southeastern states, including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina.

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