Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 33,416 Shares of ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. $SFBS

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group trimmed its ServisFirst Bancshares stake by 3.3% in the first quarter, selling 33,416 shares and leaving it with 984,937 shares valued at about $71.7 million.
• ServisFirst Bancshares shares were up 2.7% to $88.42, near the stock’s 52-week high of $90.64, with a market cap of $4.83 billion.
• The company beat quarterly EPS expectations with $1.54 per share and also paid a $0.38 quarterly dividend, while analysts currently maintain a Buy consensus and a $94.33 average price target.

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS - Free Report) by 3.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 984,937 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 33,416 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 1.80% of ServisFirst Bancshares worth $71,734,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 6.3% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,094 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $162,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its position in ServisFirst Bancshares by 17.3% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 955 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in ServisFirst Bancshares by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 3,234 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $234,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its stake in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 7,394 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $531,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lido Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 4,769 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $374,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.31% of the company's stock.

ServisFirst Bancshares Stock Up 2.7%

ServisFirst Bancshares stock opened at $88.42 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The company's 50-day moving average is $81.16 and its 200-day moving average is $79.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.83 billion, a PE ratio of 16.31 and a beta of 0.86. ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $67.20 and a fifty-two week high of $90.64.

ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 20th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $158.99 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $162.07 million. ServisFirst Bancshares had a net margin of 28.80% and a return on equity of 16.95%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. will post 6.4 earnings per share for the current year.

ServisFirst Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 1st were paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 1st. ServisFirst Bancshares's payout ratio is currently 28.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from $89.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, ServisFirst Bancshares currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $94.33.

ServisFirst Bancshares Profile

ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, and the parent of ServisFirst Bank. The company specializes in commercial banking services, catering primarily to small and mid-sized businesses, professionals and entrepreneurs. Its product portfolio encompasses commercial real estate lending, commercial and industrial loans, deposit accounts, treasury management and other ancillary banking products designed to meet the financial needs of its clients.

ServisFirst Bank offers a full suite of deposit products, including interest-bearing checking, money market accounts and certificates of deposit, as well as a variety of loan products.

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