Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) Director Leighton Cubbage Sells 350 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Director Leighton Cubbage sold 350 SFST shares at an average price of $63.05, generating $22,067.50 and reducing his ownership by 0.71% to 49,165 shares.
• Southern First Bancshares shares rose 0.4% to $62.22, near the stock’s 52-week high of $65.09. The bank recently reported quarterly EPS of $1.20, slightly above analyst expectations.
• Institutional investors own 75% of the company, while analyst sentiment remains a “Moderate Buy” with a consensus price target of $64.00, despite recent rating downgrades to “Hold.”

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST - Get Free Report) Director Leighton Cubbage sold 350 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.05, for a total value of $22,067.50. Following the sale, the director owned 49,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,099,853.25. This represents a 0.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Southern First Bancshares Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of SFST stock traded up $0.24 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $62.22. The company's stock had a trading volume of 54,029 shares, compared to its average volume of 112,163. The stock has a market cap of $588.55 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.32 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. Southern First Bancshares, Inc. has a 52-week low of $40.90 and a 52-week high of $65.09. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $61.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.47.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The bank reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.01. Southern First Bancshares had a return on equity of 10.18% and a net margin of 16.78%.The company had revenue of $20.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $36.30 million. Research analysts predict that Southern First Bancshares, Inc. will post 5.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern First Bancshares

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Southern First Bancshares in the second quarter worth approximately $50,736,000. Walleye Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares during the 2nd quarter valued at $10,998,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares in the 2nd quarter worth $5,619,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares in the 2nd quarter worth $5,343,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in Southern First Bancshares in the 2nd quarter worth $3,022,000. 75.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on SFST shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Southern First Bancshares in a report on Friday, July 31st. Zacks Research cut shares of Southern First Bancshares from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Southern First Bancshares from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $64.00.

Southern First Bancshares Company Profile

Southern First Bancshares is the bank holding company for Southern First Bank, a community-oriented financial institution headquartered in Greenville, South Carolina. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, the company delivers a full spectrum of commercial and consumer banking services designed to meet the needs of small and midsize businesses, professionals, and individual customers. Southern First Bancshares operates under a relationship-driven model, emphasizing personalized service and local decision–making.

The company's core offerings include deposit products such as checking, savings, money market accounts and certificates of deposit, alongside an array of lending solutions covering commercial real estate, construction, equipment financing and small business administration (SBA) loans.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source