ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS) Declares $0.19 Quarterly Dividend

Key Points

• ServisFirst Bancshares declared a quarterly dividend of $0.19 per share, payable October 9 to shareholders of record October 1. The dividend implies an annualized payout of $0.76 and a yield of approximately 1.8%.
• The company has increased its dividend for 10 consecutive years, while its current 13.0% payout ratio indicates substantial earnings coverage; analysts project a future payout ratio of 20.8%.
• ServisFirst reported quarterly EPS of $0.78, in line with estimates, and revenue of $168.53 million, slightly above expectations. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.31% of the stock.

ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, September 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 1st will be paid a dividend of 0.19 per share by the financial services provider on Friday, October 9th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 1st.

ServisFirst Bancshares has raised its dividend by an average of 0.1%annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 10 years. ServisFirst Bancshares has a payout ratio of 13.0% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect ServisFirst Bancshares to earn $3.66 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.76 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 20.8%.

ServisFirst Bancshares Price Performance

NYSE:SFBS opened at $41.98 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The firm has a market cap of $4.59 billion, a PE ratio of 14.30 and a beta of 0.85. ServisFirst Bancshares has a 12 month low of $33.60 and a 12 month high of $46.04. The company's 50-day moving average price is $43.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.76.

ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.78 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $168.53 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $167.85 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that ServisFirst Bancshares will post 3.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of ServisFirst Bancshares

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SFBS. Engineers Gate Manager LP grew its holdings in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 13.8% in the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 38,624 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,351,000 after buying an additional 4,683 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares during the second quarter worth $130,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in ServisFirst Bancshares by 26.3% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 152,464 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $13,226,000 after purchasing an additional 31,764 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in ServisFirst Bancshares by 306.1% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,259 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $109,000 after purchasing an additional 949 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nykredit A S bought a new position in ServisFirst Bancshares during the 2nd quarter worth about $310,000. 67.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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