ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Consensus "Moderate Buy": Five analysts rate ServisFirst Bancshares a consensus "Moderate Buy" (2 hold, 2 buy, 1 strong buy) with an average 1‑year target of $94.33, and several firms recently raised targets or upgraded the stock (Hovde to $97, Piper Sandler to $91, Raymond James to strong‑buy).
• Institutional buying: Multiple institutional investors increased positions in the latest quarter (Millennium Management +107.3%, AQR +70.9%, RBC +17.2%), and institutions now own 67.31% of the company.
• Recent results and payout: Q1 EPS beat was $1.54 vs. $1.53 expected while revenue missed slightly; the stock has a market cap of about $4.33B, a P/E of 14.62, and pays a $0.38 quarterly dividend (annualized yield ~1.9%).

Shares of ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the five analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $94.3333.

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Hovde Group upped their price target on shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from $89.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Zacks Research cut shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Raymond James Financial raised shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $95.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of ServisFirst Bancshares in a research report on Friday, April 10th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ServisFirst Bancshares

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SFBS. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in ServisFirst Bancshares by 17.2% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 16,815 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,390,000 after acquiring an additional 2,465 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in ServisFirst Bancshares by 70.9% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 8,989 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $742,000 after acquiring an additional 3,730 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in ServisFirst Bancshares by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 30,194 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,494,000 after acquiring an additional 1,308 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in ServisFirst Bancshares by 107.3% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 146,442 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $12,096,000 after acquiring an additional 75,799 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caxton Associates LLP bought a new position in ServisFirst Bancshares in the 1st quarter valued at about $204,000. Institutional investors own 67.31% of the company's stock.

ServisFirst Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of ServisFirst Bancshares stock opened at $79.23 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. ServisFirst Bancshares has a twelve month low of $67.20 and a twelve month high of $90.64. The stock has a market cap of $4.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.62 and a beta of 0.89. The company's fifty day moving average is $77.57 and its 200 day moving average is $76.17.

ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 20th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.01. ServisFirst Bancshares had a net margin of 28.80% and a return on equity of 16.95%. The company had revenue of $158.99 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $162.07 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that ServisFirst Bancshares will post 6.4 EPS for the current year.

ServisFirst Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 13th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 1st were given a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 1st. ServisFirst Bancshares's dividend payout ratio is 28.04%.

ServisFirst Bancshares Company Profile

ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, and the parent of ServisFirst Bank. The company specializes in commercial banking services, catering primarily to small and mid-sized businesses, professionals and entrepreneurs. Its product portfolio encompasses commercial real estate lending, commercial and industrial loans, deposit accounts, treasury management and other ancillary banking products designed to meet the financial needs of its clients.

ServisFirst Bank offers a full suite of deposit products, including interest-bearing checking, money market accounts and certificates of deposit, as well as a variety of loan products.

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