Banc Funds Co. LLC Sells 51,208 Shares of Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST)

Banc Funds Co. LLC cut its stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST - Free Report) by 13.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 319,035 shares of the bank's stock after selling 51,208 shares during the period. Southern First Bancshares comprises approximately 1.4% of Banc Funds Co. LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Banc Funds Co. LLC owned 3.91% of Southern First Bancshares worth $12,682,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SFST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Southern First Bancshares by 136.9% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 14,518 shares of the bank's stock worth $495,000 after purchasing an additional 8,390 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 43.4% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 44,643 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,775,000 after acquiring an additional 13,503 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 47.2% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 25,303 shares of the bank's stock valued at $862,000 after acquiring an additional 8,111 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in Southern First Bancshares by 37.9% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,066 shares of the bank's stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 568 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Southern First Bancshares by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 15,105 shares of the bank's stock valued at $600,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.00% of the company's stock.

Southern First Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SFST traded up $0.83 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $33.15. 5,749 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,163. The firm has a market capitalization of $270.77 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.40 and a beta of 0.73. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $33.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. Southern First Bancshares, Inc. has a 52 week low of $24.98 and a 52 week high of $45.91.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.04. Southern First Bancshares had a net margin of 7.28% and a return on equity of 4.85%. Analysts predict that Southern First Bancshares, Inc. will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

Southern First Bancshares Profile

Southern First Bancshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Southern First Bank that provides commercial, consumer, and mortgage loans to the general public in South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia. The company accepts various deposit products that include checking accounts, commercial checking accounts, and savings accounts, as well as other time deposits, including daily money market accounts and long-term certificates of deposit.