ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts give ServisFirst Bancshares a consensus “Buy” rating: Three analysts recommend buying, one rates it a strong buy, and one recommends holding. The average 12-month price target is $95.33.
• Recent quarterly results met expectations: The company reported adjusted earnings of $1.57 per share, matching consensus, while revenue of $168.53 million slightly exceeded estimates.
• Shares are scheduled for a 2-for-1 split on August 21: The stock recently opened at $89.58, near its 52-week high, and institutional investors own 67.31% of outstanding shares.

Shares of ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Buy" from the five analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $95.3333.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SFBS. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on ServisFirst Bancshares from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ServisFirst Bancshares

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Welch Group LLC increased its holdings in ServisFirst Bancshares by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 1,003,503 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $72,041,000 after purchasing an additional 19,727 shares in the last quarter. BCR Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth about $610,000. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. lifted its stake in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 536,197 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $38,494,000 after purchasing an additional 21,994 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,081,945 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $436,623,000 after purchasing an additional 196,248 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares in the fourth quarter worth about $7,179,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.31% of the company's stock.

ServisFirst Bancshares Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE SFBS opened at $89.58 on Monday. ServisFirst Bancshares has a 52-week low of $67.20 and a 52-week high of $90.64. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $83.64 and a 200-day moving average of $80.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.90 billion, a PE ratio of 15.26 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

Shares of ServisFirst Bancshares are going to split on Friday, August 21st. The 2-1 split was announced on Monday, July 20th. The newly created shares will be issued to shareholders after the market closes on Thursday, August 20th.

ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 20th. The financial services provider reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.57. The firm had revenue of $168.53 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.85 million. ServisFirst Bancshares had a return on equity of 17.42% and a net margin of 30.95%. On average, analysts anticipate that ServisFirst Bancshares will post 6.46 EPS for the current year.

ServisFirst Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 1st were given a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 1st. ServisFirst Bancshares's payout ratio is 25.89%.

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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