ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) Earns Hold (C+) Rating from Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• ServisFirst Bancshares received a "hold (C+)" rating from Weiss Ratings, while other analysts have varied opinions, with Zacks downgrading from "strong-buy" to "hold."
• The stock currently trades at $81.03, down 1.2%, with a target price averaging at $92.00 according to analyst ratings.
• CEO Thomas A. Broughton sold a substantial amount of shares, resulting in a 3.61% decrease in his ownership of the stock, while institutional investors collectively own 67.31% of the company.

ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "hold (c+)" rating reissued by Weiss Ratings in a research report issued on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on SFBS. Zacks Research cut shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $95.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $92.00.

ServisFirst Bancshares Stock Down 1.2%

NYSE:SFBS traded down $0.96 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $81.03. The stock had a trading volume of 102,156 shares, compared to its average volume of 247,580. The company has a market capitalization of $4.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.73 and a beta of 0.85. ServisFirst Bancshares has a 1-year low of $66.48 and a 1-year high of $101.37. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $83.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $78.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.01. ServisFirst Bancshares had a net margin of 24.62% and a return on equity of 15.47%. The firm had revenue of $132.11 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $140.26 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.95 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that ServisFirst Bancshares will post 5.17 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at ServisFirst Bancshares

In related news, CEO Thomas A. Broughton sold 22,206 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.99, for a total transaction of $1,953,905.94. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 592,588 shares in the company, valued at $52,141,818.12. This trade represents a 3.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 6.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 3.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,902,237 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $487,525,000 after acquiring an additional 187,715 shares during the period. Champlain Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 15.7% during the second quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,566,528 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $198,932,000 after acquiring an additional 349,177 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 25.1% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,072,614 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $88,598,000 after acquiring an additional 214,879 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 0.3% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,056,878 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $87,298,000 after acquiring an additional 3,405 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 6.7% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 762,392 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $59,093,000 after acquiring an additional 47,926 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.31% 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.

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