Southern First Bancshares (SFST) Stock Price, News & Analysis

Company Overview

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. Its loan portfolio comprises commercial real estate loans; construction real estate loans; commercial business loans for various lines of businesses, such as the manufacturing, service industry, and professional service areas; consumer real estate and home equity loans; and other consumer loans, including secured and unsecured installment loans and revolving lines of credit. In addition, the company provides other bank services, such as internet banking, cash management, safe deposit boxes, direct deposit, automatic drafts, bill payment, and mobile banking services. Southern First Bancshares, Inc. was incorporated in 1999 and is headquartered in Greenville, South Carolina.

Key Stats

• Today's Range: $42.87 to $45.11
• 50-Day Range: $34.75 to $45.01
• 52-Week Range: $29.14 to $45.99
• Volume: 20,498 shs
• Average Volume: 26,308 shs
• Market Capitalization: $353.84 million
• P/E Ratio: 16.04
• Dividend Yield: N/A
• Price Target: $51.00
• Consensus Rating: Buy

Southern First Bancshares Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

Southern First Bancshares scored higher than 70% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 431st out of 935 stocks in the finance sector. Scores are calculated by averaging available category scores, with extra weight given to analysis and valuation.

Analyst's Opinion

• Score: 2.5 / 5
• Analyst Rating: Buy

Consensus Rating

Southern First Bancshares has received a consensus rating of Buy. The company's average rating score is 3.00, and is based on 1 buy rating, no hold ratings, and no sell ratings.

Amount of Analyst Coverage

Southern First Bancshares has only been the subject of 1 research reports in the past 90 days.

Earnings and Valuation

• Score: 2.5 / 5
• Proj. Earnings Growth: 12.43%

Earnings Growth

Earnings for Southern First Bancshares are expected to grow by 12.43% in the coming year, from $1.85 to $2.08 per share.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

The P/E ratio of Southern First Bancshares is 16.04, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 27.85.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

The P/E ratio of Southern First Bancshares is 16.04, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the Finance sector average P/E ratio of about 18.98.

Price to Book Value per Share Ratio

Southern First Bancshares has a P/B Ratio of 1.07. P/B Ratios below 3 indicates that a company is reasonably valued with respect to its assets and liabilities.

Short Interest

• Score: 4.0 / 5
• Short Interest Level: Healthy

Percentage of Shares Shorted

0.74% of the float of Southern First Bancshares has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Southern First Bancshares has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 3.2, which is generally considered an acceptable ratio of short interest to trading volume.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Southern First Bancshares has recently decreased by 4.90%, indicating that investor sentiment is improving.

Dividend

• Score: 0.0 / 5
• Dividend Strength: N/A

Dividend Yield

Southern First Bancshares does not currently pay a dividend.

Dividend Growth

Southern First Bancshares does not have a long track record of dividend growth.

Sustainability and ESG

• Score: N/A
• Environmental Score: N/A

Percentage of Shares Shorted

0.74% of the float of Southern First Bancshares has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Southern First Bancshares has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 3.2, which is generally considered an acceptable ratio of short interest to trading volume.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Southern First Bancshares has recently decreased by 4.90%, indicating that investor sentiment is improving.

News and Social Media

• Score: 2.2 / 5
• News Sentiment: 0.91

News Sentiment

Southern First Bancshares has a news sentiment score of 0.91. This score is calculated as an average of sentiment of articles about the company over the last seven days and ranges from 2 (good news) to -2 (bad news). This news sentiment score is similar to the average news sentiment of Finance companies.

News Coverage This Week

MarketBeat has tracked 6 news articles for Southern First Bancshares this week, compared to 1 article on an average week.

Company Ownership

• Score: 3.3 / 5
• Insider Trading: Selling Shares

Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling

In the past three months, Southern First Bancshares insiders have sold 122.05% more of their company's stock than they have bought. Specifically, they have bought $25,305.00 in company stock and sold $56,190.00 in company stock.

Percentage Held by Insiders

Only 7.06% of the stock of Southern First Bancshares is held by insiders.

Percentage Held by Institutions

75.00% of the stock of Southern First Bancshares is held by institutions. High institutional ownership can be a signal of strong market trust in this company.

SFST Stock Analysis - Frequently Asked Questions

How have SFST shares performed this year?

Southern First Bancshares' stock was trading at $39.75 on January 1st, 2025. Since then, SFST stock has increased by 9.0% and is now trading at $43.31.

How were Southern First Bancshares' earnings last quarter?

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST) issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July, 22nd. The bank reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.16. The bank earned $28.63 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.80 million. Southern First Bancshares had a net margin of 10.09% and a trailing twelve-month return on equity of 6.59%.

Who are Southern First Bancshares' major shareholders?

Top institutional investors of Southern First Bancshares include Assenagon Asset Management S.A. (0.38%), SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC (0.23%), Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC (0.20%) and Sheets Smith Wealth Management (0.20%). Insiders that own company stock include R Arthur Seaver Jr, Leighton M Cubbage, David G Ellison, David Andrew Borrmann, William M Aiken III, Calvin C Hurst, Anne S Ellefson, Julie Ann Fairchild, Terry Grayson-Caprio, William Iv Maner, Ray Lattimore, Anna T Locke and Silvia T King.
View institutional ownership trends.

How do I buy shares of Southern First Bancshares?

Shares of SFST stock can be purchased through any online brokerage account. Popular online brokerages with access to the U.S. stock market include Charles Schwab, E*TRADE, Fidelity, and Vanguard Brokerage Services.

What other stocks do shareholders of Southern First Bancshares own?

Based on aggregate information from My MarketBeat watchlists, some other companies that Southern First Bancshares investors own include Waste Connections (WCN), The RMR Group (RMR), iShares Micro-Cap ETF (IWC), DiamondRock Hospitality (DRH), American Water Works (AWK), AU Optronics (AUOTY) and Triple Flag Precious Metals (TFPM).

Company Calendar

• Last Earnings: 7/22/2025
• Today: 7/29/2025
• Fiscal Year End: 12/31/2025

Industry, Sector and Symbol

• Stock Exchange: NASDAQ
• Sector: Finance
• Industry: BANKS - SOUTHEAST
• Sub-Industry: Banking
• Current Symbol: NASDAQ:SFST
• CIK: 1090009
• Web: www.southernfirst.com
• Phone: (864) 679-9000
• Fax: 864-679-9099
• Employees: 290
• Year Founded: 1999

Price Target and Rating

• Average Price Target for Southern First Bancshares: $51.00
• High Price Target: $51.00
• Low Price Target: $51.00
• Potential Upside/Downside: +17.8%
• Consensus Rating: Buy
• Rating Score (0-4): 3.00
• Research Coverage: 1 Analysts

Profitability

• EPS (Trailing Twelve Months): $2.70
• Trailing P/E Ratio: 16.04
• Forward P/E Ratio: 23.41
• P/E Growth: N/A
• Net Income: $15.53 million
• Net Margins: 10.09%
• Pretax Margin: 10.90%
• Return on Equity: 6.59%
• Return on Assets: 0.52%

Debt

• Debt-to-Equity Ratio: 0.78
• Current Ratio: 1.09
• Quick Ratio: 1.09

Sales & Book Value

• Annual Sales: $213.35 million
• Price / Sales: 1.66
• Cash Flow: $2.49 per share
• Price / Cash Flow: 17.38
• Book Value: $40.50 per share
• Price / Book: 1.07

Miscellaneous

• Outstanding Shares: 8,170,000
• Free Float: 7,592,000
• Market Cap: $353.84 million
• Optionable: Optionable
• Beta: 0.77