Blue Trust Inc. Acquires 27,018 Shares of ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. $SFBS

Key Points

• Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in ServisFirst Bancshares by 106.2% in Q2, acquiring 27,018 shares to reach a total of 52,447 shares valued at approximately $4.07 million.
• ServisFirst Bancshares is currently trading around $80.16 per share, with a market capitalization of $4.38 billion and a 12-month price range between $66.48 and $101.37.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.335 per share, set to be paid on October 10th, reflecting a 1.7% yield and a payout ratio of 29.32%.

Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS - Free Report) by 106.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 52,447 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 27,018 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. owned 0.10% of ServisFirst Bancshares worth $4,065,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in SFBS. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Quarry LP boosted its stake in ServisFirst Bancshares by 52.8% during the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 544 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S acquired a new position in ServisFirst Bancshares during the 1st quarter valued at about $171,000. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in ServisFirst Bancshares by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,466 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $204,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new position in ServisFirst Bancshares during the 1st quarter valued at about $204,000. 67.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SFBS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on ServisFirst Bancshares from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Raymond James Financial upgraded ServisFirst Bancshares from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $95.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Zacks Research downgraded ServisFirst Bancshares from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of ServisFirst Bancshares in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $92.00.

ServisFirst Bancshares Trading Down 1.1%

NYSE:SFBS opened at $80.16 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.38 billion, a PE ratio of 17.54 and a beta of 0.85. The firm's 50 day moving average is $83.22 and its 200 day moving average is $78.54. ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. has a 12 month low of $66.48 and a 12 month high of $101.37.

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, topping 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 company had revenue of $132.11 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $140.26 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.95 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current year.

ServisFirst Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.335 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 1st. This represents a $1.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. ServisFirst Bancshares's payout ratio is presently 29.32%.

Insider Activity at ServisFirst Bancshares

In other news, CEO Thomas A. Broughton sold 22,206 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 592,588 shares in the company, valued at $52,141,818.12. The trade was a 3.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 6.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

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