Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST - Free Report) to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Piper Sandler currently has $43.00 price objective on the bank's stock.

Southern First Bancshares Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of Southern First Bancshares stock traded down $0.30 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $36.87. The stock had a trading volume of 11,115 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,402. The firm has a market capitalization of $301.19 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.20 and a beta of 0.77. Southern First Bancshares has a 1 year low of $26.27 and a 1 year high of $45.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $34.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.20.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.65 earnings per share (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%. The firm had revenue of $26.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.56 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Southern First Bancshares will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Southern First Bancshares

In related news, Director William Iv Maner purchased 700 shares of Southern First Bancshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $36.15 per share, with a total value of $25,305.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $97,605. The trade was a 35.00% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 7.06% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Southern First Bancshares

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Southern First Bancshares by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 15,105 shares of the bank's stock worth $600,000 after buying an additional 675 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Southern First Bancshares by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 12,506 shares of the bank's stock worth $497,000 after acquiring an additional 813 shares in the last quarter. Koss Olinger Consulting LLC purchased a new position in Southern First Bancshares in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,685,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Southern First Bancshares by 18.1% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 97,559 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,878,000 after purchasing an additional 14,966 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Southern First Bancshares by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 421,300 shares of the bank's stock worth $16,747,000 after purchasing an additional 1,249 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.00% of the company's stock.

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.