Barclays PLC Increases Position in ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS)

Barclays PLC increased its holdings in ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS - Free Report) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 105,819 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,131 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned 0.19% of ServisFirst Bancshares worth $8,968,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SFBS. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in ServisFirst Bancshares in the 4th quarter worth $69,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in ServisFirst Bancshares by 761.6% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,189 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $101,000 after purchasing an additional 1,051 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in ServisFirst Bancshares by 169.0% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,189 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 747 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its position in ServisFirst Bancshares by 52.4% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,326 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $197,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the period. Finally, Advisors Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in ServisFirst Bancshares in the 4th quarter worth $210,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.31% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on SFBS shares. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from $96.00 to $84.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, January 5th.

ServisFirst Bancshares Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of SFBS stock traded up $0.29 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $71.08. The stock had a trading volume of 160,422 shares, compared to its average volume of 224,854. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $79.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $85.92. ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. has a 52-week low of $58.43 and a 52-week high of $101.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.88 billion, a PE ratio of 17.09 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.18 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $131.83 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $134.13 million. ServisFirst Bancshares had a net margin of 23.16% and a return on equity of 14.81%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.94 EPS. Equities analysts expect that ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ServisFirst Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st were paid a dividend of $0.335 per share. This represents a $1.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 1st. ServisFirst Bancshares's payout ratio is 30.45%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Christopher J. Mettler sold 18,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.68, for a total transaction of $1,596,240.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 17,436 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,546,224.48. The trade was a 50.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 6.70% of the company's stock.

ServisFirst Bancshares Company Profile

ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for ServisFirst Bank that provides various banking services to individual and corporate customers. It accepts demand, time, savings, and other deposits; checking, money market, and IRA accounts; and certificates of deposit. The company's loan products include commercial lending products, including seasonal, bridge, and term loans for working capital, expansion of the business, acquisition of property, and plant and equipment, as well as commercial lines of credit; commercial real estate loans, construction and development loans, and residential real estate loans; and consumer loans, such as home equity loans, vehicle financing, loans secured by deposits, and secured and unsecured personal loans.