Rhino Investment Partners Inc Sells 20,100 Shares of Southern First Bancshares, Inc. $SFST

Key Points

• Rhino Investment Partners Inc has reduced its stake in Southern First Bancshares by 8.7%, selling 20,100 shares and now holding 210,121 shares worth approximately $6.9 million.
• Piper Sandler has increased their price target for Southern First Bancshares from $43 to $51, maintaining an "overweight" rating on the stock.
• Southern First Bancshares recently reported earnings of $0.81 per share, exceeding analysts' estimates of $0.65, with revenue of $28.63 million for the quarter.

Rhino Investment Partners Inc lessened its position in Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST - Free Report) by 8.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 210,121 shares of the bank's stock after selling 20,100 shares during the period. Southern First Bancshares makes up about 1.7% of Rhino Investment Partners Inc's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Rhino Investment Partners Inc owned about 2.57% of Southern First Bancshares worth $6,917,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Southern First Bancshares by 9,638.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,012 shares of the bank's stock valued at $213,000 after purchasing an additional 6,940 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Southern First Bancshares by 21.4% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 65,440 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,601,000 after purchasing an additional 11,537 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in Southern First Bancshares in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $286,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Southern First Bancshares by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 350,875 shares of the bank's stock valued at $13,947,000 after purchasing an additional 10,854 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 84.4% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 26,769 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,064,000 after acquiring an additional 12,251 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Southern First Bancshares from $43.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Southern First Bancshares has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $51.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Leighton M. Cubbage sold 1,083 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.72, for a total value of $38,684.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 51,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,829,042.60. This trade represents a 2.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 7.06% of the company's stock.

Southern First Bancshares Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of SFST stock traded up $0.90 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $45.41. 9,392 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,956. The business has a 50 day moving average of $40.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $36.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. Southern First Bancshares, Inc. has a 52 week low of $29.14 and a 52 week high of $45.99. The company has a market capitalization of $371.41 million, a PE ratio of 16.92 and a beta of 0.83.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $28.63 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.80 million. Southern First Bancshares had a net margin of 10.09% and a return on equity of 6.52%. Analysts anticipate that Southern First Bancshares, Inc. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern First Bancshares Profile

Southern First Bancshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Southern First Bank that provides commercial, consumer, and mortgage loans to the general public in South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia. The company accepts various deposit products that include checking accounts, commercial checking accounts, and savings accounts, as well as other time deposits, including daily money market accounts and long-term certificates of deposit.