Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) Announces Earnings Results

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST - Get Free Report) posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The bank reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.16, Zacks reports. The business had revenue of $28.63 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $26.80 million. Southern First Bancshares had a return on equity of 6.59% and a net margin of 10.09%.

Southern First Bancshares Trading Down 0.4%

NASDAQ SFST traded down $0.16 during trading on Friday, hitting $44.85. The stock had a trading volume of 11,687 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,899. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $366.38 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.61 and a beta of 0.77. Southern First Bancshares has a one year low of $29.14 and a one year high of $45.96. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $37.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $35.64.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Leighton M. Cubbage sold 1,083 shares of Southern First Bancshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.72, for a total transaction of $38,684.76. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 51,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,829,042.60. The trade was a 2.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director William Iv Maner purchased 700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $36.15 per share, with a total value of $25,305.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 2,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $97,605. This represents a 35.00% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 7.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern First Bancshares

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SFST. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new stake in Southern First Bancshares in the first quarter valued at $303,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Southern First Bancshares by 23.4% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 18,637 shares of the bank's stock worth $614,000 after purchasing an additional 3,532 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in Southern First Bancshares by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 34,910 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,149,000 after purchasing an additional 890 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Southern First Bancshares by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 66,603 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,193,000 after purchasing an additional 3,074 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Southern First Bancshares from $43.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday.

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.