Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) Director Leighton Cubbage Sells 500 Shares

Key Points

• Director Leighton Cubbage sold 500 SFST shares at an average price of $62.79, generating $31,395; his remaining stake totaled 46,600 shares.
• Southern First Bancshares reported quarterly EPS of $1.20, slightly exceeding the $1.19 consensus estimate. The stock traded near $62.89, with a market capitalization of approximately $594.9 million.
• Institutional ownership stands at 75%, with major purchases from BlackRock and Walleye Capital. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus and a $64 target price, although Zacks downgraded the stock to “Hold.”

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST - Get Free Report) Director Leighton Cubbage sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.79, for a total transaction of $31,395.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 46,600 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,926,014. This represents a 1.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Southern First Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SFST traded up $0.32 during trading on Thursday, reaching $62.89. The company had a trading volume of 73,997 shares, compared to its average volume of 111,501. The firm's fifty day moving average is $62.15 and its 200 day moving average is $58.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $594.94 million, a PE ratio of 13.47 and a beta of 0.67. Southern First Bancshares, Inc. has a twelve month low of $40.90 and a twelve month high of $65.09.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SFST. Walleye Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares during the 2nd quarter valued at $10,998,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 147.3% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 34,706 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,891,000 after purchasing an additional 20,673 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares during the second quarter worth $5,343,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares during the second quarter worth $992,000. Finally, BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares during the second quarter valued at $50,736,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on SFST. Zacks Research lowered Southern First Bancshares from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Southern First Bancshares in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.

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