Strs Ohio Acquires Shares of 13,600 Southern First Bancshares, Inc. $SFST

Key Points

• Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in Southern First Bancshares by purchasing 13,600 shares valued at approximately $448,000 during the first quarter.
• Other institutional investors have also increased their stakes, with GAMMA Investing LLC growing its position by nearly 9,639% to own 7,012 shares worth around $213,000.
• The shares of Southern First Bancshares are currently priced at $44.68, with a year low of $29.14 and a high of $46.00; analysts project an earnings per share of 1.85 for the current year.

Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 13,600 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $448,000. Strs Ohio owned about 0.17% of Southern First Bancshares as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 9,638.9% in the 1st 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 during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 21.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 65,440 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,601,000 after purchasing an additional 11,537 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 802,974 shares of the bank's stock worth $26,434,000 after purchasing an additional 5,931 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in Southern First Bancshares in the fourth quarter valued at about $286,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Southern First Bancshares by 4.0% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 101,461 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,340,000 after purchasing an additional 3,902 shares during the last quarter. 75.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern First Bancshares Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:SFST opened at $44.68 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $43.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The company has a market capitalization of $365.48 million, a PE ratio of 16.55 and a beta of 0.84. Southern First Bancshares, Inc. has a 1 year low of $29.14 and a 1 year high of $46.00.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $28.63 million for 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 forecast that Southern First Bancshares, Inc. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.

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