Bank of New York Mellon Corp Invests $1.63 Million in Southern First Bancshares, Inc. $SFST

Key Points

• Bank of New York Mellon acquired 26,662 shares of Southern First Bancshares worth approximately $1.63 million, while institutional investors collectively own 75% of the company.
• Southern First Bancshares reported quarterly earnings of $1.20 per share, narrowly exceeding estimates of $1.19; analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with a $64 price target.
• Company insiders sold 5,868 shares worth $366,737 over the past 90 days, while the stock traded near $62.81, close to its 52-week high of $65.09.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 26,662 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $1,629,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned about 0.28% of Southern First Bancshares as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Southern First Bancshares by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 431,814 shares of the bank's stock valued at $19,052,000 after buying an additional 10,741 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 380,368 shares of the bank's stock valued at $20,730,000 after purchasing an additional 2,657 shares during the period. Walleye Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares during the 2nd quarter valued at about $10,998,000. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 164,986 shares of the bank's stock valued at $8,500,000 after purchasing an additional 4,302 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 17.7% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 150,607 shares of the bank's stock worth $8,208,000 after purchasing an additional 22,700 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.00% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Southern First Bancshares

In other Southern First Bancshares news, Director Leighton Cubbage sold 1,200 shares of Southern First Bancshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.26, for a total value of $74,712.00. Following the sale, the director owned 47,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,932,446. The trade was a 2.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Julie Fairchild sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total value of $94,500.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,200 shares in the company, valued at $327,600. This trade represents a 22.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 5,868 shares of company stock valued at $366,737 in the last 90 days. 6.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Southern First Bancshares Trading Down 1.4%

Southern First Bancshares stock opened at $62.81 on Wednesday. Southern First Bancshares, Inc. has a 1 year low of $40.90 and a 1 year high of $65.09. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $62.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market cap of $594.18 million, a P/E ratio of 13.45 and a beta of 0.67.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The bank reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.01. Southern First Bancshares had a net margin of 16.78% and a return on equity of 10.18%. The company had revenue of $20.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $36.30 million. On average, equities analysts predict that Southern First Bancshares, Inc. will post 5.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SFST. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Southern First Bancshares in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Zacks Research cut Southern First Bancshares from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $64.00.

About Southern First Bancshares

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.

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