Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) Director Sells $25,200.00 in Stock

Key Points

• Director Leighton Cubbage sold 400 SFST shares at an average price of $63, generating $25,200; his remaining stake totals 49,515 shares.
• Southern First Bancshares shares recently traded at $62.22, near their 52-week high of $65.09. The bank reported quarterly EPS of $1.20, slightly exceeding the $1.19 consensus estimate.
• Analyst sentiment is Moderate Buy, with a $64 consensus price target, while institutional investors own approximately 75% of the company.

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST - Get Free Report) Director Leighton Cubbage sold 400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total transaction of $25,200.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 49,515 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,119,445. This represents a 0.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Southern First Bancshares Price Performance

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

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The bank reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.01. Southern First Bancshares had a net margin of 16.78% and a return on equity of 10.18%. The firm had revenue of $20.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.30 million. On average, research analysts expect that Southern First Bancshares, Inc. will post 5.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 1,478.2% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 6,660 shares of the bank's stock valued at $407,000 after purchasing an additional 6,238 shares during the period. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new position in Southern First Bancshares in the 2nd quarter valued at about $557,000. Sheets Smith Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Southern First Bancshares by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 19,639 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,200,000 after purchasing an additional 435 shares during the last quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $677,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,022,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.00% of the company's stock.

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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