Empowered Funds LLC Acquires New Stake in Southern First Bancshares, Inc. $SFST

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC acquired 29,227 shares of Southern First Bancshares in the second quarter, worth approximately $1.8 million and representing 0.31% of the company. Institutional investors collectively own 75% of the stock.
• Southern First Bancshares reported quarterly EPS of $1.20, slightly exceeding the $1.19 consensus estimate. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $64.
• Insiders sold 6,633 shares worth approximately $413,096 over the past three months, while SFST traded near its 52-week high at $62.89 and has gained relative to its 200-day moving average.

Empowered Funds LLC 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 and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 29,227 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $1,786,000. Empowered Funds LLC owned 0.31% of Southern First Bancshares at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 40.2% in the fourth quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 666 shares of the bank's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 9,458 shares of the bank's stock worth $360,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 28.7% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,380 shares of the bank's stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new stake in Southern First Bancshares in the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in Southern First Bancshares in the 2nd quarter worth about $54,000. 75.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Southern First Bancshares news, Director Leighton M. Cubbage sold 1,200 shares of Southern First Bancshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.26, for a total transaction of $74,712.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 47,100 shares in the company, valued at $2,932,446. The trade was a 2.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Julie Fairchild sold 1,500 shares of Southern First Bancshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total transaction of $94,500.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 5,200 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $327,600. The trade was a 22.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 6,633 shares of company stock valued at $413,096 in the last three months. 6.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Southern First Bancshares Price Performance

NASDAQ:SFST opened at $62.89 on Friday. Southern First Bancshares, Inc. has a 52-week low of $40.90 and a 52-week high of $65.09. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $62.22 and a 200 day moving average of $58.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $594.94 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.47 and a beta of 0.67.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $20.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $36.30 million. Southern First Bancshares had a return on equity of 10.18% and a net margin of 16.78%. On average, research analysts expect that Southern First Bancshares, Inc. will post 5.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SFST has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Southern First Bancshares in a report on Friday, July 31st. Zacks Research lowered shares of Southern First Bancshares from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $64.00.

Southern First Bancshares Company Profile

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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