Nuveen LLC Invests $12.73 Million in ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. $SFBS

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC invested approximately $12.73 million in ServisFirst Bancshares, acquiring 154,068 shares in the first quarter, representing about 0.28% of the company.
• First-quarter earnings showed ServisFirst Bancshares reported $1.21 earnings per share, slightly beating estimates, with revenue of $132.11 million, below expectations.
• Piper Sandler upgraded their price target for the stock from $84.00 to $90.00, maintaining a "neutral" rating, while the average rating stands at "Hold" with a consensus price target of $90.50.

Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 154,068 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $12,726,000. Nuveen LLC owned about 0.28% of ServisFirst Bancshares at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SFBS. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP acquired a new position in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares during the 4th quarter valued at about $219,000. GTS Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares during the 4th quarter valued at about $225,000. Finally, OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp purchased a new stake in ServisFirst Bancshares in the 4th quarter valued at about $297,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.31% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at ServisFirst Bancshares

In other ServisFirst Bancshares news, CEO Thomas A. Broughton sold 22,206 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 6.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

ServisFirst Bancshares Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE:SFBS traded down $0.36 on Wednesday, reaching $88.88. 276,975 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 211,117. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.45 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a fifty day moving average of $80.95 and a 200-day moving average of $79.11. ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. has a 52-week low of $66.48 and a 52-week high of $101.37.

ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $132.11 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $140.26 million. ServisFirst Bancshares had a net margin of 24.62% and a return on equity of 15.47%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.95 earnings per share. As a group, 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st were paid 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 yield of 1.5%. ServisFirst Bancshares's dividend payout ratio is 29.32%.

ServisFirst Bancshares Company Profile

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.