Vanguard Group Inc. Acquires 187,715 Shares of ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. $SFBS

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in ServisFirst Bancshares, purchasing an additional 187,715 shares during Q1 2023, bringing its ownership to approximately 10.81% of the company.
• ServisFirst Bancshares reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.21 for the last quarter, slightly exceeding analysts' estimates of $1.20.
• The company recently issued a quarterly dividend of $0.335 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 1.6%.

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS - Free Report) by 3.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,902,237 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 187,715 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 10.81% of ServisFirst Bancshares worth $487,525,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 761.6% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,189 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $101,000 after purchasing an additional 1,051 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 6.0% during the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,466 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $204,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Advisors Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth approximately $210,000. Finally, Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP acquired a new stake in ServisFirst Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth approximately $219,000. 67.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

ServisFirst Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of SFBS stock traded up $0.48 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $82.35. The company had a trading volume of 8,790 shares, compared to its average volume of 230,645. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.06 and a beta of 0.85. ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. has a one year low of $66.48 and a one year high of $101.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $79.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $79.19.

ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 15.47% and a net margin of 24.62%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.95 EPS. Equities analysts expect that ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. will post 5.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ServisFirst Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st were given a dividend of $0.335 per share. This represents a $1.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 1st. ServisFirst Bancshares's payout ratio is currently 29.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on ServisFirst Bancshares from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd.

ServisFirst Bancshares 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.