AlphaQuest LLC Reduces Stock Position in ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. $SFBS

Key Points

• AlphaQuest LLC reduced its stake in ServisFirst Bancshares by 56.4%, selling 15,511 shares and holding 11,999 shares worth approximately $991,000.
• ServisFirst Bancshares reported $1.21 earnings per share for the latest quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.20, while revenues were below estimates at $132.11 million.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.335, with a 1.5% yield, and has a modest payout ratio of 29.32%.

AlphaQuest LLC decreased its holdings in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS - Free Report) by 56.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,999 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 15,511 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC's holdings in ServisFirst Bancshares were worth $991,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in ServisFirst Bancshares by 25.1% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,072,614 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $88,598,000 after acquiring an additional 214,879 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 3.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,902,237 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $487,525,000 after acquiring an additional 187,715 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in ServisFirst Bancshares in the first quarter worth about $12,726,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in ServisFirst Bancshares by 2,878.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 140,337 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $11,592,000 after buying an additional 135,626 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC raised its stake in ServisFirst Bancshares by 340.8% in the fourth quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 67,640 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,732,000 after buying an additional 52,294 shares in the last quarter. 67.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at ServisFirst Bancshares

In other news, CEO Thomas A. Broughton sold 22,206 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.99, for a total transaction of $1,953,905.94. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 592,588 shares in the company, valued at $52,141,818.12. This represents a 3.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 6.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

ServisFirst Bancshares Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:SFBS traded down $0.36 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $88.88. 276,975 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 231,824. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $80.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $79.04. ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. has a 52-week low of $66.48 and a 52-week high of $101.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market cap of $4.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.45 and a beta of 0.85.

ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.01. ServisFirst Bancshares had a net margin of 24.62% and a return on equity of 15.47%. The firm had revenue of $132.11 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $140.26 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.95 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ServisFirst Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st were issued a dividend of $0.335 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $1.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. ServisFirst Bancshares's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $90.50.

About ServisFirst Bancshares

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.