Russell Investments Group Ltd. Decreases Position in ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. $SFBS

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. has reduced its stake in ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. by 21.7%, selling 10,770 shares and now owns approximately 0.07% of the company, valued at $3.2 million.
• Piper Sandler has increased its price target for ServisFirst Bancshares from $84 to $90 and maintains a "neutral" rating for the stock.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.335 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 1.5% with a payout ratio of 29.32%.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. cut its stake in ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS - Free Report) by 21.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,930 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 10,770 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.07% of ServisFirst Bancshares worth $3,216,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in SFBS. Mariner LLC grew its holdings in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 6,787 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $575,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 31.1% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 110,176 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $9,336,000 after buying an additional 26,146 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 30,610 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,594,000 after buying an additional 1,846 shares during the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares during the fourth quarter valued at about $544,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. 67.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

ServisFirst Bancshares Price Performance

SFBS stock traded down $0.05 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $88.30. The stock had a trading volume of 174,436 shares, compared to its average volume of 211,863. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $81.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $79.06. 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 company has a market cap of $4.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.32 and a beta of 0.85. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.01. ServisFirst Bancshares had a return on equity of 15.47% and a net margin of 24.62%.The business had revenue of $132.11 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $140.26 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.95 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ServisFirst Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 1st were given a dividend of $0.335 per share. This represents a $1.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 1st. ServisFirst Bancshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.32%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Thomas A. Broughton sold 22,206 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.99, for a total transaction of $1,953,905.94. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 592,588 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $52,141,818.12. This trade represents a 3.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 6.70% of the company's stock.

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.