Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST - Get Free Report) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 52,900 shares, a decline of 16.2% from the April 30th total of 63,100 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 17,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.1 days. Approximately 0.7% of the company's shares are short sold.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director William Iv Maner acquired 700 shares of Southern First Bancshares stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were bought at an average price of $36.15 per share, for a total transaction of $25,305.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,700 shares in the company, valued at $97,605. This trade represents a 35.00% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 7.06% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern First Bancshares

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 35.8% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,041 shares of the bank's stock valued at $161,000 after buying an additional 1,065 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 15,105 shares of the bank's stock valued at $600,000 after buying an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 12,506 shares of the bank's stock worth $497,000 after purchasing an additional 813 shares during the period. Koss Olinger Consulting LLC acquired a new position in Southern First Bancshares in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,685,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 18.1% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 97,559 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,878,000 after buying an additional 14,966 shares during the last quarter. 75.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southern First Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of Southern First Bancshares stock traded down $0.50 on Wednesday, reaching $35.24. 9,773 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,379. Southern First Bancshares has a 1-year low of $25.81 and a 1-year high of $45.91. The firm has a market cap of $287.88 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.35 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. The company's 50-day moving average is $34.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.51.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. The business had revenue of $26.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.56 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Southern First Bancshares will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern First Bancshares Company 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.